CHAPTER 153*

NOMINATIONS AND POLITICAL PARTIES

*Voting must be within the state under local supervision. 30 C. 591. Attitude of courts toward party nominations. Effect of irregularity in nomination upon result of election. 75 C. 584. Former section does not warrant inference that town officials must be electors. 114 C. 530. Plan of statutes is to insure that only electors affiliated with a political party take part in primaries and caucuses of that party. 119 C. 661. Effect of chapter is to give qualified elector right to be enrolled on party list of his choice so long as he desires; enrollment not within discretion of registrar or town committee chairman. 124 C. 279.

In absence of statutory authority, court has no power concerning political party policies or organization. 10 CS 210.

PART I

GENERAL

Sec. 9-372. Definitions. The following terms, as used in this chapter, chapter 157 and sections 9-51 to 9-67, inclusive, 9-169e, 9-217, 9-236 and 9-361, shall have the following meanings:

(1) “Caucus” means any meeting, at a designated hour and place, or at designated hours and places, of the enrolled members of a political party within a municipality or political subdivision thereof for the purpose of selecting party-endorsed candidates for a primary to be held by such party or for the purpose of transacting other business of such party;

(2) “Convention” means a meeting of delegates of a political party held for the purpose of designating the candidate or candidates to be endorsed by such party in a primary of such party for state or district office or for the purpose of transacting other business of such party;

(3) “District” means any geographic portion of the state which crosses the boundary or boundaries between two or more towns;

(4) “District office” means an elective office for which only the electors in a district, as defined in subdivision (3) of this section, may vote;

(5) “Major party” means (A) a political party or organization whose candidate for Governor at the last-preceding election for Governor received, under the designation of that political party or organization, at least twenty per cent of the whole number of votes cast for all candidates for Governor, or (B) a political party having, at the last-preceding election for Governor, a number of enrolled members on the active registry list equal to at least twenty per cent of the total number of enrolled members of all political parties on the active registry list in the state;

(6) “Minor party” means a political party or organization which is not a major party and whose candidate for the office in question received at the last-preceding regular election for such office, under the designation of that political party or organization, at least one per cent of the whole number of votes cast for all candidates for such office at such election;

(7) “Municipal office” means an elective office for which only the electors of a single town, city, borough, or political subdivision, as defined in subdivision (10) of this section, may vote, including the office of justice of the peace;

(8) “Party designation committee” means an organization, composed of at least twenty-five members who are electors, which has, on or after November 4, 1981, reserved a party designation with the Secretary of the State pursuant to the provisions of this chapter;

(9) “Party-endorsed candidate” means (A) in the case of a candidate for state or district office, a person endorsed by the convention of a political party as a candidate in a primary to be held by such party, and (B) in the case of a candidate for municipal office or for member of a town committee, a person endorsed by the town committee, caucus or convention, as the case may be, of a political party as a candidate in a primary to be held by such party;

(10) “Political subdivision” means any voting district or combination of voting districts constituting a part of a municipality;

(11) “Primary” means a meeting of the enrolled members of a political party and, when applicable under section 9-431, unaffiliated electors, held during consecutive hours at which such members or electors may, without assembling at the same hour, vote by secret ballot for candidates for nomination to office or for town committee members;

(12) “Registrar” means the registrar of voters in a municipality who is enrolled with the political party holding a primary and, in each municipality where there are different registrars for different voting districts, means the registrar so enrolled in the voting district in which, at the last-preceding regular election, the presiding officer for the purpose of declaring the result of the vote of the whole municipality was moderator;

(13) “Slate” means a group of candidates for nomination by a political party to the office of justice of the peace of a town, which group numbers at least a bare majority of the number of justices of the peace to be nominated by such party for such town;

(14) “State office” means any office for which all the electors of the state may vote and includes the office of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, Comptroller, Attorney General and senator in Congress, but does not include the office of elector of President and Vice-President of the United States;

(15) “Votes cast for the same office at the last-preceding election” or “votes cast for all candidates for such office at the last-preceding election” means, in the case of multiple openings for the same office, the total number of electors checked as having voted at the last-preceding election at which such office appeared on the ballot.

History: 1963 acts rephrased previous provisions and added to definition of convention the purpose of transacting other business and added definitions for “major party”, “minor party” and “votes cast for the same office at the last-preceding election”; 1964 act deleted from definition of state office “representative-at-large in Congress”; 1967 act inserted language in Subsecs. (c) and (d) to clarify that districts and district offices pertain to senatorial and assembly districts and the senators and representatives thereof where the boundaries extend beyond the territory of a single town, inserted language in Subsec. (g) to include state representative in definition of municipal office where the assembly district is composed of single town or part thereof and in Subsec. (l) clarified definition of “slate” as it pertains to district delegates; 1969 act deleted in Subsec. (d) following state representative “or of a town or towns and a part or parts of another town or other towns”, in Subsec. (k) substituted “enrolled” for affiliated, in Subsec. (l) added “or senatorial district composed of part of a town”; P.A. 73-657 inserted language in Subsecs. (c) and (d) to further clarify that district and district office pertain where the boundaries extend beyond that of a single town; P.A. 79-363 added “or at designated hours and places to definition of caucus” in Subsec. (a); P.A. 81-447 redefined “major party” and “minor party”, added definition of “party designation committee” and replaced alphabetic subdivision indicators with numeric indicators; Nov. Sp. Sess. P.A. 81-3 extended applicability of definitions to Sec. 9-169e; P.A. 83-213 amended Subdivs. (3) and (4) to redefine “district” and “district office”, amended Subdiv. (7) to redefine “municipal office” and amended Subdiv. (13) to redefine “state”; P.A. 87-509 added to definition of “primary” in Subdiv. (11) a meeting of unaffiliated electors when applicable under Sec. 9-431; P.A. 94-12 redefined “major party” by deleting obsolete text and adding Subpara. (B) re parties meeting enrollment threshold, effective January 1, 1995; P.A. 97-154 amended definition of “major party” in Subdiv. (5)(B) by inserting “on the active registry list”, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 03-241 made a technical change in Subdiv. (5), divided Subdiv. (9) into Subparas. (A) and (B), made technical changes and deleted convention delegate candidate from definition of “party-endorsed candidate” in Subdiv. (9), deleted meeting to vote for convention delegate candidates from definition of “primary” in Subdiv. (11), and substituted provision re group of candidates for nomination to office of justice of the peace for provisions re group of candidates for election as convention delegates in definition of “slate” in Subdiv. (13), effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 08-2 added reference to chapter 157, effective April 7, 2008; pursuant to P.A. 11-20, “ballot label” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “ballot” in Subdiv. (15), effective May 24, 2011.

Sec. 9-373. Nominations to public office. All nominees for state, district and municipal office, all members of town committees and all delegates to conventions, shall be chosen as provided in this chapter.

Sec. 9-373a. Registration of write-in candidates. Any person desiring to be a write-in candidate for any state, district or municipal office to be filled at any regular election shall register his candidacy with the Secretary of the State on a form prescribed by the secretary. The registration shall include the candidate’s name and address, the designation and term of the office sought, a statement of consent to the candidacy, and any other information which the secretary deems necessary. In the case of a write-in candidacy for the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor, the registration shall include a candidate for each of those offices, or shall be void. The registration shall not include a designation of any political party. The registration shall be filed with the secretary not more than ninety days prior to the election at which the office is to be filled and not later than four o’clock p.m. on the fourteenth day preceding the election, or the registration shall be void. No person nominated for an office by a major or minor party or by nominating petition shall register as a write-in candidate for that office under the provisions of this section, and any registration of a write-in candidacy filed by such a person shall be void. Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, any person desiring to be a write-in candidate for the municipal office of town meeting member in any town having a representative town meeting which has seventy-five or more members shall register his candidacy with the town clerk of such town not later than the last business day preceding such election.

(P.A. 83-475, S. 1, 43; P.A. 87-382, S. 52, 55.)

History: P.A. 87-382 added notwithstanding sentence re write-in candidates for municipal office of town meeting member in towns having a representative town meeting which has at least 75 members.

Sec. 9-374. Party rules to be filed. No authority of the state or any political subdivision thereof having jurisdiction over the conduct of any primary shall permit the name of a party-endorsed candidate for an office or position to be printed on the official ballot to be used at any such primary unless a copy of the party rules regulating such party and its method of selecting party-endorsed candidates for nomination to such office or for election as town committee members, as the case may be, has been filed in the office of the Secretary of the State at least sixty days before such candidate is selected under such method of endorsement. The selection of delegates to conventions shall not be valid unless at least one copy of the party rules regulating the manner of making such selection has been filed in the office of the Secretary of the State at least sixty days before such selection is made. A duplicate copy of such rules shall also be filed with the state central committee of such party. A copy of the local party rules, relating to a party in a municipality, shall be filed forthwith by the town chairman or the secretary of the town committee of such party in such municipality with the Secretary of the State. The state party rules shall be filed by the state chairman or the secretary of the state central committee of such party. In the case of a minor party, no authority of the state or any subdivision thereof having jurisdiction over the conduct of any election shall permit the name of a candidate of such party for any office to be printed on the official ballot unless at least one copy of the party rules regulating the manner of nominating a candidate for such office has been filed in the office of the Secretary of the State at least sixty days before the nomination of such candidate. In the case of a minor party, the selection of town committee members and delegates to conventions shall not be valid unless at least one copy of the party rules regulating the manner of making such selection has been filed in the office of the Secretary of the State at least sixty days before such selection is made. A copy of local party rules shall forthwith be also filed with the town clerk of the municipality to which they relate. Party rules shall not be effective until sixty days after the filing of the same with the Secretary of the State. A party in any municipality for which local party rules with respect to any office or position have not been filed as provided in this section shall, as to such office or position, be subject to the provisions of the effective state rules of such party applicable in municipalities which do not have local party rules, until such time as local party rules therefor are filed and become effective as provided in this section. The town chairman of a party in any municipality for which local party rules have not been adopted and filed as provided in this section shall forthwith file a statement with the Secretary of the State to the effect that such party in such municipality does not have local party rules. The term “party rules” as used in this section includes any amendment to such party rules. When any amendment is to be filed as required by this section, complete party rules incorporating such amendment shall be filed, together with a separate copy of such amendment.

History: 1961 act added provisions re failure to file local rules; 1963 acts entirely replaced previous provisions and further provided for filing two copies of party rules, rather than one, with the secretary, one to be forwarded to the state central committee and further provided where amendment(s) are filed, complete copies of the rules incorporating amendment(s) as well as separate copies of the amendment(s) are to be filed; P.A. 79-363 provided that one copy of rules be filed with the secretary and one copy sent direct to the state central committee; P.A. 03-241 specified applicability to “political” subdivisions of state, deleted delegates from application of provision re ballot requirement, added provision requiring party rules to be filed in office of Secretary of the State for delegate selection to be valid, and made technical changes, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

See Sec. 3-99a re fees for filing, recording and processing copies of documents in Secretary of the State’s office.

Sec. 9-375. Amendment of party rules. The local party rules, governing a political party in any municipality, may be amended by one of the three following methods: (1) By a caucus of its enrolled party members, (2) by a convention of delegates chosen by its enrolled party members in a manner prescribed in such rules or (3) by its town committee. Whenever, in any municipality, the method of amending the local party rules of a party is by the town committee, such rules may also be amended either by a caucus of its enrolled party members or by a convention of delegates chosen by its enrolled party members in a manner prescribed in such rules, whichever such rules specify, which caucus or convention, as the case may be, shall forthwith be called by the chairman of its town committee upon the filing with the registrar of voters of such party in such municipality of a petition signed by at least five per cent or five hundred, whichever is less, of its enrolled party members in such municipality, and such caucus or convention, as the case may be, shall be held within a period of time reasonably necessary to convene the same, which period of time shall be prescribed in its rules. Whenever the method of amendment prescribed in accordance with the provisions of this section for a party in any municipality consists of or involves a convention of delegates chosen by its enrolled party members under its party rules, such rule or amendment so prescribing such method of amendment shall also prescribe the manner in which such delegates are to be chosen.

Sec. 9-375b. Amendment of party rules following a census. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 9-374 and 9-375, during the second calendar year following the year in which the decennial census of the United States is taken, (1) any amendments of the state rules of a particular party necessitated by redistricting may be made by a majority vote of the members of the state central committee of such party voting thereon at a meeting called for the purpose of considering such amendments, and (2) any amendments of the local rules of a particular party necessitated by redistricting may be made by a majority vote of the members of the town committee of such party voting thereon at a meeting called for the purpose of considering such amendments. Any such amendments shall be effective upon the filing of a copy thereof in the office of the Secretary of the State by the chairman or vice-chairman of such political party.

(P.A. 92-1, S. 6, 8; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-7, S. 116.)

History: Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-7 provided for amendments of rules during second calendar year following year in which the decennial census is taken, deleted references to 1992 and made technical changes, effective October 5, 2009.

Sec. 9-376. Postponement of primary day. (a)(1) If the day fixed for any primary falls on a Sunday or a legal holiday or on a day on which the tenets of a religion forbid secular activity, the primary shall be held on the next succeeding day other than a Sunday or a legal or such religious holiday. (2) If the day fixed for any primary falls on the Tuesday immediately following Labor Day, the primary shall be held on the next succeeding Tuesday.

(b) If a primary is held on a day prescribed by subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section, the day of the primary shall be considered to be the day on which such primary would have been held except for subdivision (1) of said subsection, for all other purposes including the calculation of any period of time having reference to such primary, except that the calculation of any deadline relating to a person becoming eligible to vote in such primary shall be made from the day on which the primary is actually held.

History: 1963 act restated existing provisions; 1967 act added provision concerning religious holiday to the days on which a primary will not be held; P.A. 83-544 designated the former statute Subsec. (a), adding a new Subdiv. (2) which deals with primaries which fall on the Tuesday after Labor Day, and added a new Subsec. (b) containing provisions formerly contained in Subsec. (a); P.A. 87-472 made Subsec. (b) applicable only to primary held on day prescribed by Subsec. (a)(1); P.A. 89-297 added exception in Subsec. (b) for calculation of any deadline relating to a person becoming eligible to vote in a primary under Subsec. (a)(1).

Sec. 9-377. Write-in spaces on ballots prohibited. At a primary votes may be cast and counted only for duly qualified candidates at such primary whose names appear on the ballot on primary day. No write-in spaces shall appear on the ballots used at a primary.

Sec. 9-378. Nominations without party designation excepted. In any municipality which, under the provisions of a special act, nominates one or more candidates for municipal office without party designation by nominating petitions or in nonpartisan primaries in addition to the nomination of one or more candidates for such office under party designation, the provisions of this chapter shall apply only to the nomination of such candidates for election therein as are nominated and voted upon under party designation.

PART II

PARTIES ENTITLED TO PLACE ON BALLOT

Sec. 9-379. Eligibility for placing on ballot. No name of any candidate shall be printed on any official ballot at any election except the name of a candidate nominated by a major or minor party unless a nominating petition for such candidate is approved by the Secretary of the State as provided in sections 9-453a to 9-453p, inclusive.

Sec. 9-380. Newly-created offices. In the case of an office created after the last-preceding election, no name of any candidate for such office shall be printed on the official ballot except the name of a candidate nominated by a political party or organization whose candidate for Governor at the last-preceding election for Governor received, under the designation of that political party or organization at least twenty per cent of the whole number of votes cast for all candidates for Governor, or at least one per cent of the whole number of votes cast for all candidates for Governor at such election within the geographical limits of the jurisdiction of such newly-created office, provided, upon the filing of a nominating petition with the Secretary of the State as provided in sections 9-453a to 9-453p, inclusive, signed by a number of qualified electors equal to one per cent of the whole number of votes cast for all candidates for Governor at the last-preceding election within the geographical limits of the jurisdiction of such newly-created office, or whenever the geographical limits of the jurisdiction of a newly-created office differ from the geographical limits of a voting district or group of voting districts as the same were constituted at the time of the last-preceding election for Governor, signed by a number of qualified electors equal to one per cent of the number of electors who voted at the last regular election held in such municipality, or whenever the geographical limits of the jurisdiction of a newly-created office contain more than one town or parts of towns, signed by a number of qualified electors equal to one per cent of the number of electors who voted at the last regular election held in each town which is wholly or partially contained within the geographical limits of the jurisdiction of the newly-created office, such candidate with his party designation, if any, shall be printed on the official ballot. As used in this section, the terms “office created after the last-preceding election” and “newly-created office” do not include an office for which the geographical limits of the jurisdiction of the office have changed as result of redistricting.

History: 1965 act added provision for determining number of signatures required on nominating petition where geographical limits of newly-created office differ from that of a voting district or group of voting districts as they were constituted at the time of the last-preceding election; 1971 act changed the requirement from “one-half of one per cent” to “one per cent” and further added “if any” to “party designation”; P.A. 04-18 excluded an office for which geographical limits of jurisdiction of the office have changed as result of redistricting from terms “office created after the last-preceding election” and “newly-created office”, effective July 1, 2004.

PART III

NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES

A

MAJOR PARTIES

Sec. 9-381. Nomination procedure. The provisions of sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, shall apply to the nomination by a major party of any candidate for an elective office, including an office established after the last-preceding election, and to the selection in any municipality by a major party of town committee members or delegates to conventions.

Sec. 9-381a. Election procedures applicable to primaries unless otherwise provided. Except as otherwise provided by statute, the provisions of the general statutes concerning procedures relating to regular elections shall apply as nearly as may be, in the manner prescribed by the Secretary of the State, to primaries held under the provisions of this chapter.

Sec. 9-382. Party-endorsed candidates; state or district office. The state or district convention, as the case may be, shall, in a manner conforming with applicable law and with the rules of the party calling such convention, choose a candidate for nomination to each of the state or district offices, as the case may be. No such convention shall choose more than one candidate for nomination to any such office. Candidates so chosen shall run in the primary of such party as party-endorsed candidates, except as provided in section 9-416.

Sec. 9-383. Time and place of convention. The time and place of meeting of a state or district convention shall be fixed by the state central committee or other authority of the party holding such convention, in accordance with the rules of such party; provided each such convention held to endorse candidates for state or district office to be voted upon at a state election shall be convened not earlier than the ninety-eighth day and closed not later than the seventy-seventh day preceding the day of the primary for such office.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; P.A. 74-25 charged time limitation from between June 1 and July 15 to between fifty-fourth and forty-seventh day preceding primary day for such office; P.A. 77-39 substituted “sixty-first” for “fifty-fourth”; P.A. 77-583 substituted “forty-third” for “forty-seventh”; P.A. 89-297 changed “sixty-first day” to “sixty-eighth day” and “forty-third day” to “fiftieth day”; P.A. 03-241 changed “sixty-eighth day” to “ninety-eighth day” and “fiftieth day” to “seventy-seventh day”, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Sec. 9-384. Calls for conventions. Each convention shall originate by call of the chairman of the state central committee or other authority of the party holding such convention, in accordance with the rules of such party.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; P.A. 75-396 added provision for call of the convention to be published at least ninety days before the convention is to be held and deleted provision for simultaneous publication with the date of the primary for electing delegates, effective January 1, 1976; P.A. 85-268 deleted provision requiring that call be published at least ninety days before convention in newspaper or newspapers published in state or in district for which convention is held.

Sec. 9-385. Roll-call vote or polling by delegation at convention. Whenever one-fifth or more of the accredited delegates to, and present and voting at, any state or district convention, called for the purpose of choosing candidates for nomination for any elective office, upon motion, vote in favor of a roll call upon any matter or motion pending before such convention, or whenever a vote is to be taken on a party endorsement as between two or more candidates for nomination to any state or district office at any such convention, the clerk or secretary of such convention shall call such roll and shall keep a true record, in writing, of the vote of each delegate entitled to vote and voting at such convention or shall poll such convention by delegations if this procedure has been chosen by the convention pursuant to section 9-385a, and shall, at the conclusion of such roll call or call by delegations as the case may be, announce the result of such vote. Such clerk or secretary shall file such record at the headquarters of the state central committee, where it shall be preserved for a period of one hundred eighty days after the adjournment of such convention, and such record shall be open to public inspection at all reasonable times.

Sec. 9-385a. Voting by delegation at state convention. The delegates to the state convention of each party elected from each town shall select a chairman of such delegation and file the name and address of such chairman with the secretary of the state central committee of such party prior to the opening of such convention. Whenever one-fifth or more of the accredited delegates to, and present and voting at, any such state convention called for the purpose of choosing candidates for nomination for any elective office, upon motion, vote that a roll call vote, under section 9-385, upon any matter or motion pending before such convention, or on a party endorsement as between two or more candidates for nomination to any state office at any such convention, be taken by town delegation, the individual delegates shall be polled by the chairman of each town delegation whose designation is recorded as provided herein and their votes cast by totals by such chairman on the roll call. A list of the names and the vote of each delegate shall be filed by the said chairman of each town delegation with the clerk or secretary of the convention prior to the announcement of the result of such roll call vote and shall be preserved with the record of the vote as provided in section 9-385. A duplicate copy of such list shall be filed with the Secretary of the State not later than forty-eight hours after the close of such convention. Upon announcement by the chairman of the vote of a town delegation, any delegate from such town may question or challenge such announcement, and thereupon, the vote of such town delegation shall be individually taken by the clerk or the secretary of such convention calling the roll, and each delegate shall announce his own vote. The provisions of this law shall not apply to district delegates, if any, and district delegates shall continue to vote individually on any roll call.

Sec. 9-386. Tie vote on endorsement. If a vote taken under sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, on the selection of any party-endorsed candidate for state or district office results in a tie, such tie vote shall be dissolved in the manner prescribed in the applicable state or district rules of the party selecting such candidate; provided, if said party rules are silent or permit the tie vote to remain, a tie may be declared by the chairman or the presiding officer and there shall be no party endorsement. In such case of no party endorsement, statements may be filed under section 9-400, by or on behalf of any qualified person whose name appears upon the last-completed enrollment list of such party and who has received at least fifteen per cent of the votes of the convention delegates present and voting on any roll-call vote taken on the proposed endorsement of a candidate for such state or district office. In such event, if within the time specified in section 9-400, a candidacy for nomination to such state or district office is filed in conformity with the provisions of sections 9-400 to 9-414, inclusive, by not more than one person, no primary shall be held by such party for such office and the person filing such candidacy shall be deemed to have been lawfully chosen as the nominee of such party for such office; but if such candidacies are so filed by two or more persons, a primary shall be held as provided in section 9-415.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; 1967 act added provision for no party endorsement where party rules are silent or permit a tie vote to remain, and in that case, further provided for filing of petitions under Sec. 9-400; P.A. 79-616 substituted “statements” for “petitions”; P.A. 93-342 substituted 15% for 20% as percentage of delegate votes required for candidacy when there is no party-endorsed candidate.

Sec. 9-387. Dispute as to endorsement of a candidate or selection of a delegate. The state rules of each party shall prescribe the manner in which any dispute as to the endorsement by such party of a candidate for state, district or municipal office or for town committee member, or as to the selection by such party of a delegate to a convention, including conflicting claims to such endorsement or selection, shall be resolved.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; P.A. 81-447 required that state rules of each party shall prescribe manner of resolution of disputes concerning endorsement by party of candidates for municipal office, delegate or town committee member; P.A. 03-241 removed “delegate” from application of provision re dispute as to endorsement and added provisions re dispute as to selection of a delegate, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Sec. 9-388. Report to Secretary of the State. Whenever a convention of a political party is held for the endorsement of candidates for nomination to state or district office, each candidate endorsed at such convention shall file with the Secretary of the State a certificate, signed by him, stating that he was endorsed by such convention, his name as he authorizes it to appear on the ballot, his full residence address and the title and district, if applicable, of the office for which he was endorsed. Such certificate shall be attested by either (1) the chairman or presiding officer, or (2) the secretary of such convention and shall be received by the Secretary of the State not later than four o’clock p.m. on the fourteenth day after the close of such convention. Such certificate shall either be mailed to the Secretary of the State by certified mail, return receipt requested, or delivered in person, in which case a receipt indicating the date and time of delivery shall be provided by the Secretary of the State to the person making delivery. If a certificate of a party’s endorsement for a particular state or district office is not received by the Secretary of the State by such time, such certificate shall be invalid and such party, for purposes of section 9-416 and section 9-416a shall be deemed to have made no endorsement of any candidate for such office. If applicable, the chairman of a party’s state convention shall, forthwith upon the close of such convention, file with the Secretary of the State the names and full residence addresses of persons selected by such convention as the nominees of such party for electors of President and Vice-President of the United States in accordance with the provisions of section 9-175.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; P.A. 74-25 changed time for submission of list to secretary of the state from 48 hours after close of convention to not later than “the forty-sixth day before the primary”, or the next succeeding business day, effective January 1, 1975; P.A. 77-583 substituted “forty-second” for “forty-sixth”; P.A. 81-447 amended section to delete requirement that secretary of convention file list of designated candidates and candidates receiving 20% of convention vote and to add requirement that endorsed candidates file certificate of endorsement attested by chairman, presiding officer or secretary of convention within 14 days after close of convention, effective January 1, 1982; P.A. 87-382 added “as he authorizes it to appear on the ballot” and deleted provision extending certificate filing deadline when falling on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday; P.A. 06-137 added requirement re method of providing certificate to the Secretary of the State and provided that if certificate is not received by required time, it shall be invalid, effective January 1, 2007.

See Sec. 9-406a re penalty for fraudulent certification.

Cited. 232 C. 65. Compliance with section is evidenced by date of delivery of certificate to Secretary of the State and not by date of candidate’s mailing of certificate; use of word “invalid” means that section’s provisions are mandatory; legislature evidenced a clear intent to require strict compliance with section’s filing deadline such that neither Secretary of the State nor the court can extend the deadline due to unintentional noncompliance; failure to strictly comply with section yields harsh consequence such that the name of endorsed incumbent probate judge will not appear on ballot. 298 C. 665.

Sec. 9-390. Selection of party-endorsed candidates for municipal office and selection of delegates to conventions. (a) Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, party-endorsed candidates of any party in any municipality for municipal office shall be selected, in accordance with the rules of such party, by: (1) The enrolled members of such party in such municipality in caucus, (2) delegates to a convention chosen in accordance with such rules by such enrolled members, or (3) the town committee of such party. The town chairman or his designee shall give notice in a newspaper having a general circulation in the town of the date, time, location and purpose of a caucus held pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection. Such notice shall be given not less than five days prior to the date set for the caucus; provided, if the rules of the party in any municipality require earlier notice, such party rules shall prevail.

(b) Delegates to conventions shall be selected, in accordance with the rules of such party, by the method prescribed in either subdivision (1) or (3) of subsection (a) of this section.

(c) Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, party-endorsed candidates of any party in any municipality for town committee members shall be selected, in accordance with the rules of such party, by the method prescribed in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section.

(d) The selection of party-endorsed candidates in the manner provided in subsection (a) or (c) of this section and the selection of delegates to conventions in the manner provided in subsection (b) of this section shall be made and certified to the clerk of the municipality or the Secretary of the State, as the case may be, within the time specified in section 9-391.

(e) (1) In the endorsement of any person for an office or a position as committee member, in the manner provided in subsection (a) or (c) of this section, for whom only the electors of a political subdivision of such municipality or of a senatorial district or assembly district located in such municipality may vote, only the enrolled party members, delegates or town committee members, as the case may be, from such political subdivision or district may participate, except that, in a municipality in which the town committee is elected at large and is the endorsing authority, such endorsement shall be made by the town committee as a whole and except that, whenever no member of the endorsing authority resides in such political subdivision or district from which the endorsement is to be made, then such endorsing authority as a whole shall endorse.

(2) In the selection of any person for a position as delegate to a convention, in the manner provided in subsection (b) of this section, where only the electors of a political subdivision of such municipality or of a senatorial district or assembly district located in such municipality may vote for the offices to be voted upon at such convention, only the enrolled party members or town committee members, as the case may be, from such political subdivision or district may participate, except that (A) in a municipality in which the town committee is elected at-large and is the selecting authority, the town committee as a whole shall select, and (B) in a municipality in which the town committee is elected from political subdivisions and is the selecting authority, whenever no member of the town committee resides in such political subdivision or district from which the selection is to be made, the town committee as a whole shall select.

(f) Candidates endorsed in the manner provided in subsection (a) or (c) of this section shall run in the primary of such party as party-endorsed candidates, except as provided in section 9-417. Delegates to conventions selected in the manner provided in subsection (b) of this section shall be deemed to have been lawfully selected as such delegates.

(g) Any party in any municipality may by its rules provide that no selection be made of party-endorsed candidates for municipal office or town committee members and that the nominees of such party for such municipal office or town committee members of such party be chosen at direct primaries in accordance with the provisions of sections 9-405, 9-406, 9-409 to 9-412, inclusive, and 9-414, except as provided in sections 9-418 and 9-419.

(h) This section shall not apply to district delegates to conventions.

History: 1961 act made provision for endorsement by town committee as a whole, in towns where town committee is elected at large, of persons for whom only a political subdivision or district in town may vote; 1963 act restated previous provisions; 1967 act added provision for endorsement by full committee when no member of endorsing authority resides in political subdivision from which endorsement to be made and added “assembly district” to “senatorial district” where appearing; P.A. 79-133 provided that party-endorsed candidates for delegates to conventions shall be selected either by enrolled party members in caucus or by the party’s town committee and further provided that party-endorsed candidates for town committee members shall be selected only by caucus of enrolled party members; P.A. 80-249 provided that certification may also contain last name of a candidate for delegate to a convention selected for placement on the ballot label pursuant to Sec. 9-437; P.A. 80-379 provided for newspaper publication of notice pertaining to any caucus; P.A. 87-472 repealed provisions in Subsec. (d) re information contained in certification; P.A. 03-241 made a technical change in Subsec. (a), amended Subsec. (b) by deleting “Except as provided in subsection (g) of this section, party-endorsed candidates of any party in any municipality for”, designated existing provisions of Subsec. (e) as Subdiv. (1), removed “delegate” from application of Subsec. (e)(1) and deleted reference to Subsec. (b) therefrom, added Subsec. (e)(2) re selection of delegates, amended Subsec. (f) by adding provision requiring that delegates selected in manner provided in Subsec. (b) be deemed to have been lawfully selected as such delegates and by making a conforming change, and amended Subsec. (g) by making a conforming changes, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 04-58 amended Subsec. (d) by deleting reference to Subsec. (b) in provision re selection of party-endorsed candidates and inserting “and the selection of delegates to conventions in the manner provided in subsection (b) of this section”; P.A. 06-137 amended Subsec. (d) to include reference to the Secretary of the State, effective January 1, 2007.

Sec. 9-391. Time for party endorsements for municipal offices and town committee members. Time for selection of delegates to conventions. Certification. Late certification void. (a) Each endorsement of a candidate to run in a primary for the nomination of candidates for municipal office to be voted upon at a municipal election, or for the election of town committee members shall be made under the provisions of section 9-390 not earlier than the fifty-sixth day or later than the forty-ninth day preceding the day of such primary. The endorsement shall be certified to the clerk of the municipality by either (1) the chairman or presiding officer, or (2) the secretary of the town committee, caucus or convention, as the case may be, not later than four o’clock p.m. on the forty-eighth day preceding the day of such primary. Such certification shall contain the name and street address of each person so endorsed, the title of the office or the position as committee member and the name or number of the political subdivision or district, if any, for which each such person is endorsed. If such a certificate of a party’s endorsement is not received by the town clerk by such time, such certificate shall be invalid and such party, for purposes of sections 9-417, 9-418 and 9-419, shall be deemed to have neither made nor certified such endorsement of any candidate for such office.

(b) Each selection of delegates to a state or district convention shall be made in accordance with the provisions of section 9-390 not earlier than the one-hundred-fortieth day and not later than the one-hundred-thirty-third day preceding the day of the primary for such state or district office. Such selection shall be certified to the clerk of the municipality by the chairman or presiding officer and the secretary of the town committee or caucus, as the case may be, not later than four o’clock p.m. on the one-hundred-thirty-second day preceding the day of such primary. Each such certification shall contain the name and street address of each person so selected, the position as delegate, and the name or number of the political subdivision or district, if any, for which each such person is selected. If such a certificate of a party’s selection is not received by the town clerk by such time, such certificate shall be invalid and such party, for purposes of sections 9-417 and 9-420, shall be deemed to have neither made nor certified any selection of any person for the position of delegate.

(c) Each endorsement of a candidate to run in a primary for the nomination of candidates for a municipal office to be voted upon at a state election shall be made under the provisions of section 9-390 not earlier than the eighty-fourth day or later than the seventy-seventh day preceding the day of such primary. Any certification to be filed under this subsection shall be received by the Secretary of the State, in the case of a candidate for the office of state senator or state representative, or the town clerk, in the case of a candidate for any other municipal office to be voted upon at a state election, not later than four o’clock p.m. on the fourteenth day after the close of the town committee meeting, caucus or convention, as the case may be. If such a certificate of a party’s endorsement is not received by the Secretary of the State or the town clerk, as the case may be, by such time, such certificate shall be invalid and such party, for the purposes of sections 9-417 and 9-418, shall be deemed to have neither made nor certified any endorsement of any candidate for such office. The candidate so endorsed for a municipal office to be voted upon at a state election, other than the office of justice of the peace, shall file with the Secretary of the State or the town clerk, as the case may be, a certificate, signed by that candidate, stating that such candidate was so endorsed, the candidate’s name as the candidate authorizes it to appear on the ballot, the candidate’s full street address and the title and district of the office for which the candidate was endorsed. Such certificate shall be attested by the chairman or presiding officer and the secretary of the town committee, caucus or convention which made such endorsement. The endorsement of candidates for the office of justice of the peace shall be certified to the clerk of the municipality by the chairman or presiding officer and the secretary of the town committee, caucus or convention, and shall contain the name and street address of each person so endorsed and the title of the office for which each such person is endorsed.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; P.A. 74-25 changed time limitations on selection of party-endorsed candidates from “forty-ninth” to “forty-second” and from “thirty-fifth” to “fortieth” and on certification to the clerk from the “thirty-fourth” to the “thirty-ninth” day or next succeeding business day, effective January 1, 1975; P.A. 81-447 added Subsec. (b) requiring filing of certificate of endorsement by candidate; P.A. 82-247 added four o’clock deadline for certification and provided that if certificate of endorsement is not received by that deadline the party will be deemed to have neither made nor certified any endorsement; P.A. 83-475 amended section to advance endorsement and certification period by one week; P.A. 84-1 changed time limit for endorsement of candidates for election as convention delegates and for certification of endorsement; P.A. 85-235 amended section to require all endorsements to be made not earlier than the forty-ninth day nor later than the forty-seventh day preceding the day of primary; and certifications to be made on the forty-sixth day preceding such primary, deleting previous deadlines applicable to election of convention delegates; P.A. 87-382, in Subsec. (a), substituted “fifty-sixth” for “forty-ninth” and deleted provision extending certificate deadline when falling on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday and, in Subsec. (b), added “as he authorizes it to appear on the ballot”; P.A. 87-472 added provisions in Subsec. (a) re information required to be contained in certification and requirements for placing on ballot label names of candidates supported by endorsed candidates for delegates to a convention; P.A. 89-297 amended Subsec. (a) by changing endorsement deadline from forty-seventh day preceding primary day to forty-ninth day and changing certification deadline from forty-sixth day preceding primary day to forty-eighth day; P.A. 90-1 amended procedure in Subsec. (a) for placing on ballot label names of candidates supported by endorsed delegate slate by providing for letters of support for such candidates and allowing affidavit of consent from the candidate to be signed by a designee of the candidate named on list signed by candidate; P.A. 03-241 amended Subsec. (a) by inserting “to be voted upon at a municipal election”, deleting provisions re convention delegate candidates and making conforming changes, and substituted new Subsecs. (b) and (c), re convention delegate selection and endorsement of candidates to run in primaries for nomination of candidates for municipal offices to be voted upon at state elections, for former Subsec. (b), effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 04-1 amended Subsec. (b) by changing “one-hundred-sixty-eighth day” to “one-hundred-fortieth day”, “one-hundred-sixty-first day” to “one-hundred-thirty-third day” and “one-hundred-sixtieth day” to “one-hundred-thirty-second day”, effective February 9, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 04-257 made a technical change in Subsecs. (a) and (c), effective June 14, 2004; P.A. 05-235 amended Subsec. (c) to require certification to be received by Secretary of the State in case of candidate for office of state senator or state representative and make conforming changes; P.A. 06-137 made technical changes and provided that if certificate of endorsement or selection is not received by the applicable deadline to file such certificate it shall be invalid, effective January 1, 2007.

Sec. 9-392. Selection of town committees. A town committee shall be selected by each party in each town, in accordance with the provisions of sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, not later than July 1, 1956, and thereafter at intervals not greater than twenty-six months. The terms of town committee members shall start on the first Monday following the date for the primary, unless otherwise provided in the party rules, except that the terms of all members shall begin and end on the same day; provided, when a town committee increases its membership as provided in section 9-393, the party rules shall specify the day upon which the term of all the new positions created by such increase shall begin.

Sec. 9-393. Selection of town committee members and delegates. All town committee members and delegates to conventions shall be chosen as provided in sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive. Vacancies in town committees, arising from any cause including failure to elect, shall be filled in such manner as the rules of the party prescribe. The chairman of a town committee may be chosen by the town committee from within or without the membership of the town committee as the rules of the party prescribe. Any town committee may, by party rules adopted in accordance with section 9-375 and filed under section 9-374, increase its membership and fill new positions created by such increase in the manner prescribed in the applicable party rules. The rules of a party may provide methods for the filling of vacancies in delegations to conventions, which methods may include prescribing that each delegate selected in conformity with the provisions of sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, may designate an alternate delegate or a proxy to act for him in his absence.

History: 1963 acts restated previous provisions and authorized party to provide methods for filling vacancies other than designating alternates or proxies to act; P.A. 03-241 changed “elected” to “selected” re filling of vacancies, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Sec. 9-394. District delegates. If the state rules of a party provide that certain delegates to state conventions be chosen from senatorial districts, the party-endorsed candidates for election as such district delegates shall be selected in such manner as is prescribed in such rules; provided such selection shall be made within the time specified in section 9-391; and provided, upon such selection, the information required in section 9-390 shall forthwith be certified, in such manner as is prescribed in such rules, to the clerk of each municipality in such district, and such certification shall be deemed the certification of the party in such municipality. Delegates allocated to and selected from towns shall not be deemed to be district delegates.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; 1967 act provided specific language to detail the possible combinations of towns and parts thereof where boundaries of a district extend outside the boundaries of one town; P.A. 73-657 included districts composed of “parts of two towns”; P.A. 83-213 eliminated references to district conventions and specified that delegates allocated to and selected from towns are not to be deemed district delegates.

Sec. 9-394a. Senatorial and assembly district convention delegates. Any major party in any part of a town which is a component part of a senatorial or assembly district composed of parts of two towns or of a town or towns and a part or parts of another town or other towns may select delegates to a senatorial or assembly district convention in such district as provided in this title and its party rules and may participate in the selection of a candidate for state senator or state representative in such district in the manner provided for a town which is a component part of a senatorial district in a district composed of two or more towns under this title. In addition to other requirements prescribed by law, the name of a person on whose behalf a primary petition is filed for nomination to the office of state senator or state representative for such district and the names of the signers of any such petition shall appear on the last-completed enrollment list of such party for such part of a town or for any other town which is a component part of such district.

(1967, P.A. 557, S. 21; P.A. 73-657, S. 8, 13; P.A. 03-241, S. 24.)

History: P.A. 73-657 added “state representative” following “state senator” where appearing and inserted “or assembly” in “senatorial ... district”, also added detailed language concerning the fact that district boundaries extend beyond the boundaries of one town or part thereof; P.A. 03-241 changed “elect” to “select” re designation of delegates and deleted provision re party enrollment of members of opposition slates of delegates and primary petition signers, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Sec. 9-395. Publication of information concerning municipal primaries. (a) Forthwith upon the certification provided in section 9-391, the clerk of the municipality shall publish, in a newspaper having a general circulation in such municipality, the fact of such certification and that a list of the persons endorsed as candidates is on file in his office and copies thereof are available for public distribution. If, with respect to any office or position to be filled, the clerk of the municipality has failed to receive the certification of the name of any person as a party-endorsed candidate within the time limited in section 9-391, such fact shall be published by the clerk of the municipality. Together with such information, the clerk shall publish a notice that a primary will be held for the nomination by such political party of a candidate for the offices to be filled or for the election of members of the town committee, as the case may be, if a candidacy is filed in accordance with the provisions of sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive. Such notice shall specify the final date for the filing of such candidacy and the date of the primary, shall state where forms for petitions may be obtained and shall generally indicate the method of procedure in the filing of such candidacy. The Secretary of the State shall prescribe the form of such notice. The clerk shall forthwith publish any change in the party-endorsed candidates, listing such changes.

(b) In any year in which a state election is to be held, the notice described in subsection (a) of this section shall: (1) Be published not later than the seventy-sixth day preceding the day of the primary, (2) indicate that the certification provided in section 9-391 can be made, and (3) indicate that a list of persons endorsed as candidates will be on file in the clerk’s office, as provided in subsection (a) of this section. The requirement contained in subsection (a) of this section to publish the fact that the clerk of the municipality has failed to receive the certification of the name of any person as a party-endorsed candidate within the time limit in section 9-391, shall not apply to the notice required by this subsection.

History: 1963 acts restated previous provisions, removed requirement of printing names and addresses of candidates in newspaper and provided for list for public inspection in clerk’s office; P.A. 03-241 substituted “section 9-391” for “sections 9-390 and 9-394” and removed election of convention delegates from application of requirement that clerk publish notice of primary, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 07-194 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a) and added Subsec. (b) re required publication date and contents of notice in years when state election is to be held, effective July 5, 2007.

Sec. 9-396. Ballot vote at caucus; eligibility to vote. At any caucus of the enrolled members of any party in any municipality or in any voting district of any municipality, the chairman of such caucus shall, upon the receipt of a written motion from any person lawfully participating in such caucus calling for a vote by ballot upon such matter as such motion designates, submit such motion to a rising vote; and, if fifteen electors present and legally entitled to participate in such caucus vote in favor of such motion, the vote on the matter specified in such motion shall be by ballot. The presiding officer shall thereupon appoint two tellers; and, upon the written application of fifteen electors legally entitled to participate in such caucus, he shall appoint a teller from the persons whose names appear on such application. Before any ballot is deposited, the name of the elector offering to vote shall be given to the clerk or secretary of such caucus, and such name shall be checked on the enrollment list of such party. No person shall vote or participate or attempt to vote or participate in any caucus of a party in any voting district unless he is enrolled on the last-completed enrollment list of such party in such voting district; provided, if the party rules of such party provide for a joint caucus for two or more voting districts of a municipality, a person may vote in such joint caucus if the voting district in which he is enrolled is participating in such joint caucus. Any person who violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a class D misdemeanor.

Sec. 9-397. Tie vote on endorsement. If a vote taken under sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, on the selection of any party-endorsed candidate for municipal office or for delegate or town committee member results in a tie, such tie vote shall be dissolved in the manner prescribed in the applicable rules of the party selecting such candidate.

Sec. 9-400. Filing of candidacies; state or district office. (a) A candidacy for nomination by a political party to a state office may be filed by or on behalf of any person whose name appears upon the last-completed enrollment list of such party in any municipality within the state and who has either (1) received at least fifteen per cent of the votes of the convention delegates present and voting on any roll-call vote taken on the endorsement or proposed endorsement of a candidate for such state office, whether or not the party-endorsed candidate for such office received a unanimous vote on the last ballot, or (2) circulated a petition and obtained the signatures of at least two per cent of the enrolled members of such party in the state, in accordance with the provisions of sections 9-404a to 9-404c, inclusive. Candidacies described in subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be filed by submitting to the Secretary of the State not later than four o’clock p.m. on the fourteenth day following the close of the state convention, a certificate, signed by such candidate and attested by either (A) the chairman or presiding officer, or (B) the secretary of the convention, that such candidate received at least fifteen per cent of such votes, and that such candidate consents to be a candidate in a primary of such party for such state office. Such certificate shall specify the candidate’s name as the candidate authorizes it to appear on the ballot, the candidate’s full residence address and the title of the office for which the candidacy is being filed. A single such certificate or petition for state office may be filed on behalf of two or more candidates for different state offices who consent to have their names appear on a single row of the primary ballot under subsection (b) of section 9-437. Candidacies described in subdivision (2) of this subsection shall be filed by submitting said petition not later than four o’clock p.m. on the sixty-third day preceding the day of the primary for such office to the registrar of voters of the towns in which the respective petition pages were circulated. Each registrar shall file each page of such petition with the Secretary of the State in accordance with the provisions of section 9-404c. A petition filed by or on behalf of a candidate for state office shall be invalid for such candidate if such candidate is certified as the party-endorsed candidate pursuant to section 9-388 or as receiving at least fifteen per cent of the convention vote for such office pursuant to this subsection. Except as provided in section 9-416a, upon the expiration of the time period for party endorsement and circulation and tabulation of petitions and signatures, if any, if one or more candidacies for such state office have been filed pursuant to the provisions of this section, the Secretary of the State shall notify all town clerks and registrars of voters in accordance with the provisions of section 9-433, that a primary for such state office shall be held in each municipality in accordance with the provisions of section 9-415.

(b) A candidacy for nomination by a political party to a district office may be filed by or on behalf of any person whose name appears upon the last-completed enrollment list of such party within the district the person seeks to represent that is in the office of the Secretary of the State at the end of the last day prior to the convention for the party from which the person seeks nomination and who has either (1) received at least fifteen per cent of the votes of the convention delegates present and voting on any roll-call vote taken on the endorsement or proposed endorsement of a candidate for such district office, whether or not the party-endorsed candidate for such office received a unanimous vote on the last ballot, or (2) circulated a petition and obtained the signatures of at least two per cent of the enrolled members of such party in the district for the district office of representative in Congress, and at least five per cent of the enrolled members of such party in the district for the district offices of state senator, state representative and judge of probate, in accordance with the provisions of sections 9-404a to 9-404c, inclusive. Candidacies described in subdivision (1) of this subsection shall be filed by submitting to the Secretary of the State not later than four o’clock p.m. on the fourteenth day following the close of the district convention, a certificate, signed by such candidate and attested by either (A) the chairman or presiding officer, or (B) the secretary of the convention, that such candidate received at least fifteen per cent of such votes, and that the candidate consents to be a candidate in a primary of such party for such district office. Such certificate shall specify the candidate’s name as the candidate authorizes it to appear on the ballot, the candidate’s full residence address and the title and district of the office for which the candidacy is being filed. Candidacies described in subdivision (2) of this subsection shall be filed by submitting said petition not later than four o’clock p.m. on the sixty-third day preceding the day of the primary for such office to the registrar of voters of the towns in which the respective petition pages were circulated. Each registrar shall file each page of such petition with the Secretary in accordance with the provisions of section 9-404c. A petition may only be filed by or on behalf of a candidate for the district office of state senator, state representative or judge of probate who is not certified as the party-endorsed candidate pursuant to section 9-388 or as receiving at least fifteen per cent of the convention vote for such office pursuant to this subsection. A petition filed by or on behalf of a candidate for the district office of representative in Congress shall be invalid if said candidate is certified as the party-endorsed candidate pursuant to section 9-388 or as receiving at least fifteen per cent of the convention vote for such office pursuant to this subsection. Except as provided in section 9-416a, upon the expiration of the time period for party endorsement and circulation and tabulation of petitions and signatures, if any, if one or more candidacies for such district office have been filed pursuant to the provisions of this section, the Secretary of the State shall notify all town clerks within the district, in accordance with the provisions of section 9-433, that a primary for such district office shall be held in each municipality and each part of a municipality within the district in accordance with the provisions of section 9-415.

(c) For the purposes of this section, the number of enrolled members of a party shall be determined by the latest enrollment records in the office of the Secretary of the State prior to the earliest date that primary petitions were available. The names of electors on the inactive registry list compiled under section 9-35 shall not be counted for purposes of computing the number of petition signatures required under this section, as provided in section 9-35c.

(d) On the last day for filing primary petition candidacies in accordance with the provisions of this section, the office or office facilities of the registrars of voters shall open not later than one o’clock p.m., and remain open until at least four o’clock p.m., and such registrars or the deputy or assistant registrars shall be present.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; 1967 act added clarifying language concerning candidacy of person whose name appears on enrollment list of party within any municipality or part forming a component part of a district and provided for application of section to state representative of a district whose boundaries include a part or whole of two or more towns; 1969 act made technical changes; P.A. 73-657 added detailed language concerning the fact that assembly districts affected are those whose boundaries extend within the whole or parts of two or more towns; P.A. 79-616 provided that within 14 days following the close of state or district conventions a candidacy for nomination may be filed, a written statement of consent signed by the candidate, and if one or more such candidacies are filed a primary shall be held, applying to those who received at least 20% of convention delegates votes on roll call and deleted all provisions pertaining to petitions and the signatures required thereon, and filing fees required; P.A. 81-447 amended section to require filing of certificate by candidates receiving 20% of convention votes and to specify certificate contents, effective January 1, 1982; P.A. 87-382 added, in Subsecs. (a) and (b), “as he authorizes it to appear on the ballot”; P.A. 87-472 amended Subsec. (a) to allow single certificate for state office to be filed on behalf of two or more candidates for different state offices who consent to have their names appear on single row of primary ballot label under Sec. 9-437(b); P.A. 93-342 substituted 15% for 20% in Subsecs. (a) and (b); P.A. 03-241 substantially revised Subsecs. (a) and (b) by adding provisions to allow candidacies to also be filed by persons who circulate petition and obtain signatures of threshold percentages of enrolled party members and added Subsecs. (c) and (d) re determination of number of enrolled party members and required office hours of registrars of voters on last day for filing primary petition candidacies, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 06-137 amended Subsec. (a) to change the deadline for filing of petitions described in Subdiv. (2) from four o’clock p.m. on the fourteenth day following the close of the state convention to four o’clock p.m. on the sixty-third day preceding the day of the primary for the office and to change the time period for notification by the Secretary of the State to town clerks re the holding of a primary for state office from upon the expiration of the 14-day period and completion of the tabulation of petition signatures, if any, to upon the expiration of the time period for party endorsement and circulation and tabulation of petitions and signatures, if any, and amended Subsec. (b) to change the deadline for filing of petitions described in Subdiv. (2) from four o’clock p.m. on the fourteenth day following the close of the district convention to four o’clock p.m. on the sixty-third day preceding the day of the primary for the office and to change the time period for notification by the Secretary of the State to town clerks within the district re the holding of a primary for district office from upon the expiration of the 14-day period and completion of the tabulation of petition signatures, if any, to upon the expiration of the time period for party endorsement and circulation and tabulation of petitions and signatures, if any, effective January 1, 2007; P.A. 11-173 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “ballot label” with “ballot”, by requiring Secretary of the State to notify registrars of primaries for a state office and by making a technical change and amended Subsec. (b) to require candidate for nomination to a district office to appear on the last-completed enrollment list of the nominating party of the district, rather than the municipality or part of the municipality, that is in the office of the Secretary of the State prior to the convention, effective July 13, 2011.

Secs. 9-401 to 9-404. Availability of petition forms. Petition form; circulation of petitions for state or district office; prohibited acts. Registrar’s receipt and verification of petitions for state or district office; rejection by Secretary of the State, when; preservation of petitions by secretary. Return of deposit; state or district office. Sections 9-401 to 9-404, inclusive, are repealed.

Sec. 9-404a. Availability and issuance of primary petition forms for candidacies for nomination to state or district office. Petition forms for candidacies for nomination by a political party to a state office, as defined in section 9-372, or the district office of representative in Congress shall be available from the Secretary of the State beginning on the one-hundred-fifth day preceding the day of the primary for such state and district offices. Petition forms for candidacies for nomination by a political party to the district office of judge of probate, state senator or state representative shall be available from the Secretary of the State beginning on the seventy-seventh day preceding the day of the primary for such office. Any person who requests a petition form shall give the person’s name and address and the name, address and office sought of each candidate for whom the petition is being obtained and shall file a statement signed by each such candidate that such candidate consents to be a candidate for such office. Each such candidate shall include on the statement of consent the candidate’s name as the candidate authorizes it to appear on the ballot. Upon receiving such information and statement, the Secretary shall type or print on a petition form the name and address of each such candidate, the office sought and the political party holding the primary. The Secretary shall give to any person requesting such form one or more petition pages, suitable for duplication, as the Secretary deems necessary. If the person is requesting the form on behalf of an indigent candidate or a group of indigent candidates listed on the same petition, the Secretary shall give the person the number of original pages that the person requests or the number which the Secretary deems sufficient. An original petition page filled in by the Secretary may be duplicated by or on behalf of the candidate or candidates listed on the page and signatures may be obtained on such duplicates. The duplicates may be filed in the same manner and shall be subject to the same requirements as original petition pages. All information relative to primary petitions shall be a public record.

(P.A. 03-241, S. 1; P.A. 06-137, S. 4.)

History: P.A. 03-241 effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 06-137 changed the beginning date of availability for petition forms for district office of judge of probate, state senator or state representative from the day following the close of the district convention to the seventy-seventh day preceding the day of the primary for such office, effective January 1, 2007.

Sec. 9-404b. Primary petition forms for candidacies for nomination to state or district office. Signatures. Circulation. (a) The petition form for candidacies for nomination to state or district office shall be prescribed and provided by the Secretary of the State, and signatures shall be obtained only on such form or on duplicate petition pages produced in accordance with the provisions of section 9-404a. Such form shall include, at the top of the form and in bold print, the following:

WARNING

IT IS A CRIME TO SIGN THIS PETITION

IN THE NAME OF ANOTHER PERSON

WITHOUT LEGAL AUTHORITY TO DO SO

AND YOU MAY NOT SIGN THIS PETITION

IF YOU ARE NOT AN ELECTOR.

The form shall include a statement of instructions to persons using the form and shall indicate the date and time by which it shall be filed and the person with whom it shall be filed. The form shall provide spaces for the names and addresses of the candidates, the offices to which nomination is sought and the political party holding the primary, and shall provide lines for the signatures, street addresses, dates of birth and the printing of the names of enrolled party members supporting the person or persons on behalf of whose candidacy the petition is used.

(b) Only as many candidates may be proposed in any one primary petition for the same office as are to be nominated by such party for such office, but any one primary petition may propose as many candidates for different state offices as there are nominations to be made.

(c) The names of enrolled party members signing a primary petition may be on several pages, provided no person shall sign more than one petition page for the same candidate or candidates. Any person who signs a name other than the person’s own to a primary petition filed under the provisions of this section or who signs a name other than the person’s own as circulator of such petition shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. Each such page shall indicate the candidate or candidates supported, the offices sought and the political party for which nomination is being sought. No page of such a petition shall contain the names of enrolled party members residing in different municipalities and any petition page that has been certified by the registrars of two or more municipalities shall be rejected by the Secretary. Withdrawal of petition signatures shall not be permitted.

(d) Each circulator of a primary petition page shall be an enrolled party member of a municipality in this state. Each petition page shall contain a statement signed by the registrar of the municipality in which the circulator is an enrolled party member attesting that the circulator is an enrolled party member in the municipality. Unless such a statement by the registrar of voters appears on each page so submitted, the Secretary shall reject the page. Each separate page of the petition shall contain a statement as to the authenticity of the signatures on the page and the number of such signatures, and shall be signed under the penalties of false statement by the person who circulated the page, setting forth the circulator’s address and the town in which the circulator is an enrolled party member and attesting that each person whose name appears on the page signed the petition in person in the presence of the circulator, that the circulator either knows each such signer or that the signer satisfactorily identified himself or herself to the circulator and that the spaces for candidates supported, offices sought and the political party involved were filled in prior to the obtaining of the signatures. Each separate page of the petition shall also be acknowledged before an appropriate person as provided in section 1-29. The Secretary shall reject any page of a petition filed with the Secretary which does not contain such a statement by the circulator as to the authenticity of the signatures on the page, or upon which the statement of the circulator is incomplete in any respect, or which does not contain the certification required under this section by the registrar of the town in which the circulator is an enrolled party member. Any individual proposed as a candidate in any primary petition may serve as a circulator of the pages of the petition, provided the individual’s service as circulator does not violate any provision of this section.

(P.A. 03-241, S. 2.)

History: P.A. 03-241 effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Sec. 9-404c. Registrar’s receipt and verification of petitions for candidacies for nomination to state or district office. Filing with Secretary. Tabulation. (a) Upon the receipt of any page of a petition proposing a candidacy for a state or district office, the registrar shall forthwith sign and give to the person submitting the petition a receipt, in duplicate, stating the number of pages filed and the date and time of filing. The person or the candidate shall forthwith send one copy of the receipt to the Secretary of the State. The registrar of voters shall indicate on each such petition page the date and time of filing, shall forthwith certify on each such page the number of signers of the page who were enrolled on the last-completed enrollment list of such party in the municipality or political subdivision, as the case may be, and shall forthwith file such certified page in person or by mail, as described in section 9-140b, with the Secretary within seven days after receipt of the page. In checking the signatures on primary petition pages, the registrar shall reject any name which does not appear on the last-completed enrollment list of such party in the municipality or political subdivision, as the case may be. Such rejection shall be indicated by placing a mark in a manner prescribed by the Secretary before the name rejected. The registrar may place a check mark before each name appearing on the enrollment list to indicate approval but shall place no other mark on the page except as provided in this chapter. The registrar shall not reject any name for which the street address on the petition is different from the street address on the enrollment list, if (1) such person is eligible to vote for the candidate or candidates named in the petition in the municipality of the registrar, and (2) the person’s date of birth, as shown on the petition page, is the same as the date of birth on the person’s registration record.

(b) Upon the filing of all pages of a petition, the Secretary shall reject any page of the petition which does not contain the certifications required in section 9-404b or which the Secretary determines to have been circulated in violation of any provision of said section 9-404b, and shall immediately cause the number of certified signatures to be tabulated. Petitions filed with the Secretary shall be preserved for a period of three years and then may be destroyed.

(P.A. 03-241, S. 3.)

History: P.A. 03-241 effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Sec. 9-405. Time for filing primary petition candidacies for municipal offices and town committee members. (a)(1) Candidacies of persons other than party-endorsed candidates for nomination by a political party to a municipal office to be voted upon at a municipal election, or for election as town committee members shall be filed with the registrar, as provided in section 9-406, not later than four o’clock p.m. on the thirty-fourth day preceding the day of the primary of such party for the nomination of candidates for such office or for the election of town committee members. Said day and hour shall be specified on the petition forms.

(2) Candidacies of persons, other than party-endorsed candidates, for nomination by a political party to a municipal office to be voted upon at a state election shall be filed with the registrars, as provided in section 9-406, not later than four o’clock p.m. on the sixty-third day preceding the day of the primary for such office. Said day and hour shall be specified on the petition forms.

(b) On the last day for filing primary petition candidacies, in accordance with the provisions of this section, the office or office facilities of the registrars of voters shall open not later than one o’clock p.m., and remain open until at least four o’clock p.m., and such registrars or their deputy or assistant registrars shall be present.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; P.A. 74-25 changed filing deadline from twenty-first to twenty-fifth day preceding day of primary; P.A. 83-475 amended section to advance filing deadline by one week; P.A. 84-1 changed time limit for filing of candidacies for election as convention delegates; P.A. 85-235 amended section to require filing of candidacies for unendorsed candidates by the thirty-second day preceding the day of the primary, deleting deadline of twenty-fifth day preceding primary applicable only to election of convention delegates; P.A. 85-577 required the office of registrars to open not later than one o’clock p.m., and remain open until at least four o’clock p.m. on last day for filing candidacies; P.A. 87-382 deleted provision extending deadline for filing candidacies when falling on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday; P.A. 89-297 amended filing deadline from thirty-second day preceding primary day to thirty-fourth day; P.A. 03-241 divided existing provisions into Subsecs. (a)(1) and (b), amended Subsec. (a)(1) by inserting “to be voted upon at a municipal election”, removing delegates to conventions from application of Subsec. (a)(1) and making technical changes, added Subsec. (a)(2) re filing of candidacies to municipal offices to be voted upon at state elections, and amended Subsec. (b) by making conforming and technical changes, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 06-137 amended Subsec. (a)(2) to change deadline for filing of candidacies to be voted upon at a state election from not later than four o’clock p.m. on the fourteenth day following the making of the party’s endorsement of a candidate to not later than four o’clock p.m. on the sixty-third day preceding the day of the primary, effective January 1, 2007.

Sec. 9-406. Filing of primary petition candidacies for municipal offices and town committee members. A candidacy for nomination by a political party to a municipal office or a candidacy for election as a member of a town committee may be filed by or on behalf of any person whose name appears upon the last-completed enrollment list of such party within the municipality or within the political subdivision, senatorial district or assembly district within which a person is to be nominated or a town committee member is to be elected, as the case may be. Any such candidacy shall be filed by filing with the registrar within the applicable time specified in section 9-405 a petition signed by (1) at least five per cent of the electors whose names appear upon the last-completed enrollment list of such party in such municipality or in such political subdivision, senatorial district or assembly district, or (2) such lesser number of such electors as such party by its rules prescribes, as the case may be. For the purpose of computing five per cent of the last-completed enrollment list, the registrar shall use the last printed enrollment list and the printed updated list, if any, of a political party certified and last completed by the registrars of voters prior to the date the first primary petition was issued, excluding therefrom the names of individuals who have ceased to be electors.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; 1967 act added assembly district to application of section; P.A. 75-269 provided that in computing 5% the names of individuals ceasing to be electors shall be excluded therefrom; P.A. 79-616 deleted requirement for filing fees; P.A. 80-483 made technical changes; P.A. 99-276 added reference to “or updated” list, effective January 1, 2000; P.A. 03-241 specified that filing of candidacy shall be “within the applicable time specified in section 9-405”, specified that enrollment list to be used for computation purposes is that last completed “prior to the date the first primary petition was issued” and made technical changes, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 11-173 deleted reference to supplementary list, effective July 13, 2011.

See Sec. 9-35c re exclusion of names on inactive registry list from computation for determining required number of petition signatures.

Sec. 9-406a. Penalty for fraudulent certification. Any person who fraudulently signs, attests or files a false certificate under section 9-388, 9-391, 9-400 or 9-406 shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

Secs. 9-407 and 9-408. Filing of candidacies; delegates. Filing of primary petition candidacies for district delegates. Sections 9-407 and 9-408 are repealed, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Sec. 9-409. Availability and issuance of primary petition forms for candidacies for nomination to municipal office or election as town committee members. Petition forms for candidacies for nomination to municipal office or for election as members of town committees shall be available from the registrar beginning on the day following the making of the party’s endorsement of a candidate or candidates for such office or position, or beginning on the day following the final day for the making of such endorsement under the provisions of section 9-391, whichever comes first. Any person who requests a petition form shall give his name and address and the name, address and office or position sought of each candidate for whom the petition is being obtained, and shall file a statement signed by each such candidate that he consents to be a candidate for such office or position. In the case of the municipal offices of state senator and state representative, each such candidate shall include on the statement of consent his name as he authorizes it to appear on the ballot. Upon receiving such information and statement, the registrar shall type or print on a petition form the name and address of each such candidate, the office sought and the political party holding the primary. The registrar shall give to any person requesting such form one or more petition pages, suitable for duplication, as the registrar deems necessary. If the person is requesting the form on behalf of an indigent candidate or a group of indigent candidates listed on the same petition, the registrar shall give the person a number of petition pages determined by the registrar as at least two times the number needed to contain the required number of signatures for a candidacy for nomination to municipal office or a number of petition pages determined by the registrar as at least five times the number needed to contain the required number of signatures for a candidacy for election as a town committee member. An original petition page filled in by the registrar may be duplicated by or on behalf of the candidate or candidates listed on the page and signatures may be obtained on such duplicates. The duplicates may be filed in the same manner and shall be subject to the same requirements as original petition pages. All information relative to primary petitions shall be a public record.

History: 1963 acts restated previous provisions and left solely with registrar determination of number of petition pages to be given, not as requested; P.A. 74-139 substituted “certified to the town clerk” for “selected” where appearing; P.A. 77-245 substituted “municipal clerk” for “town clerk”; P.A. 79-616 deleted provision for payment of required deposit; P.A. 82-426 amended section to provide that petition forms are available on day following party endorsement or on day following the final day for making party endorsement, whichever is earlier rather than at least three weeks before final filing day; P.A. 83-391 reduced number of petition pages given to persons requesting them from three to two times the number needed; P.A. 83-475 amended section to require issuance of greater number of petition pages in case of candidacy for town committee member; P.A. 87-382 added sentence requiring candidate for municipal office of state senator or state representative to include on statement of consent his name as he authorizes it to appear on ballot; P.A. 87-472 added provisions re requirements for placing on ballot label names of candidates supported by petition candidates for election as delegates to a convention; P.A. 90-1 amended procedure for placing on ballot label names of candidates supported by delegate petition slates, by providing for letters of support for such candidates and allowing affidavit of consent from a candidate to be signed by a designee of the candidate named on list signed by the candidate; P.A. 93-384 limited number of pages that registrar required to give to person requesting to “one or more petition pages, suitable for duplication, as the registrar deems necessary” unless candidate or candidates are indigent, and allowed pages filled in by registrar to be duplicated; P.A. 03-241 deleted provisions re petitions for delegate candidacies and made technical changes, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Sec. 9-410. Primary petition forms for candidacies for nomination to municipal office or election as town committee members. Signatures. Circulation. (a) The petition form for candidacies for nomination to municipal office or for election as members of town committees shall be prescribed by the Secretary of the State and provided by the registrar of the municipality in which the candidacy is to be filed or duplicate petition pages shall be produced in accordance with section 9-409, and signatures shall be obtained only on such forms or such duplicate petition pages. Such form shall include, at the top of the form and in bold print, the following:

WARNING

IT IS A CRIME TO SIGN THIS PETITION

IN THE NAME OF ANOTHER PERSON

WITHOUT LEGAL AUTHORITY TO DO SO

AND YOU MAY NOT SIGN THIS PETITION

IF YOU ARE NOT AN ELECTOR.

The form shall include thereon a statement of instructions to persons using the form and shall indicate the date and time by which it shall be filed and the person with whom it shall be filed. The form shall provide spaces for the names and addresses of the candidates, the offices to which nomination is sought or the positions to which election is sought and the political party holding the primary, and shall provide lines for the signatures, street addresses, dates of birth and the printing of the names of enrolled party members supporting the person or persons on behalf of whose candidacy the petition is used. Only as many candidates may be proposed in any one primary petition for the same office or position as are to be nominated or chosen by such party for such office or position; but any one primary petition may propose as many candidates for different offices or positions as there are nominations to be made or positions to be filled.

(b) The names of enrolled party members signing a primary petition need not all be on one sheet but may be on several sheets, but no person shall sign more than one petition page for the same candidate or candidates. Any person who signs a name other than the person’s own to a primary petition filed under the provisions of this section or who signs a name other than the person’s own as circulator of such a petition shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than one year or both. Each such sheet shall indicate the candidate or candidates supported, the offices or positions sought and the political party the nomination of which is sought or which is holding the primary for election of town committee members. No page of such a petition shall contain the names of enrolled party members residing in different municipalities and any page thereof which has been certified by the registrars of two or more municipalities shall be rejected by the registrar. Withdrawal of petition signatures shall not be permitted.

(c) Each circulator of a primary petition page shall be an enrolled party member of a municipality in this state who is entitled to vote. Each petition page shall contain a statement signed by the registrar of the municipality in which such circulator is an enrolled party member attesting that the circulator is an enrolled party member in such municipality. Unless such a statement by the registrar appears on each page so submitted, the registrar shall reject such page. No candidate for the nomination of a party for a municipal office or the position of town committee member shall circulate any petition for another candidate or another group of candidates contained in one primary petition for the nomination of such party for the same office or position, and any petition page circulated in violation of this provision shall be rejected by the registrar. No person shall circulate petitions for more than the maximum number of candidates to be nominated by a party for the same office or position, and any petition page circulated in violation of this provision shall be rejected by the registrar. Each separate sheet of such petition shall contain a statement as to the authenticity of the signatures thereon and the number of such signatures, and shall be signed under the penalties of false statement by the person who circulated the same, setting forth such circulator’s address and the town in which such circulator is an enrolled party member and attesting that each person whose name appears on such sheet signed the same in person in the presence of such circulator, that the circulator either knows each such signer or that the signer satisfactorily identified the signer to the circulator and that the spaces for candidates supported, offices or positions sought and the political party involved were filled in prior to the obtaining of the signatures. Each separate sheet of such petition shall also be acknowledged before an appropriate person as provided in section 1-29. Any sheet of a petition filed with the registrar which does not contain such a statement by the circulator as to the authenticity of the signatures thereon, or upon which the statement of the circulator is incomplete in any respect, or which does not contain the certification hereinbefore required by the registrar of the town in which the circulator is an enrolled party member, shall be rejected by the registrar. Any individual proposed as a candidate in any primary petition may serve as a circulator of the pages of such petition, provided such individual’s service as circulator does not violate any provision of this section.

History: 1963 acts restated previous provisions, substituted “primary” for “nominating” petition where appearing, added penalties for false signing and a proviso that a candidate named on any primary petition is not prevented from serving as a circulator; 1971 act changed “penalties of perjury” to “penalties of false statement”; P.A. 76-40 substituted in circulator’s attestation “certified to the municipal clerk” for “selected”; P.A. 78-125 added prohibition on candidate’s circulating petitions for another candidate or group of candidates contained in one petition for the same office or for anyone to circulate petitions for more than the maximum number to be nominated by a party for the same office, petition pages circulated in violation of prohibition to be rejected by the registrar and further provided that each separate sheet contain statement as to the number of signatures thereon and for acknowledgment of each separate sheet; P.A. 82-426 amended section to conform to change in time for petition availability made in Sec. 9-409; P.A. 87-472 required petition form for candidates for election as convention delegates to include spaces for information on candidates supported by slate; P.A. 93-384 allowed petition form to be “duplicate pages produced in accordance with section 9-409” and required form to provide lines for dates of birth of enrolled party members supporting person or persons on behalf of whose candidacy petition is used; P.A. 99-276 required petition forms to provide lines for the printing of names of enrolled party members, effective January 1, 2000; P.A. 00-66 divided section into Subsecs. and made technical changes; P.A. 03-241 deleted provisions re petitions for delegate candidacies and made conforming changes throughout, amended Subsec. (a) to require petition form to include warning, and amended Subsec. (c) to eliminate requirement that each circulator be entitled to vote in primary for which candidacy is being filed, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Subsec. (c):

Subsec. requires that all petitions obtained by a circulator be invalidated when the circulator is seeking signatures for one mayoral candidate and then, the same circulator, at a later point in time, seeks signatures on a petition for a different candidate to the same office. 284 C. 141. “[C]andidate” includes placeholder or straw candidates. Id. Legislative history that purpose of statute was to prevent candidates from engaging in tactics that had the effect of siphoning votes from a strong rival candidate to a weaker rival supports interpretation that when a person has circulated petition pages for more than the maximum number of candidates to be nominated by a party for the same office or position, the registrar must reject any petition page circulated by that person, regardless of when it was circulated. Nothing in Subsec. or other statutes governing election procedures makes any distinction between bona fide candidates and placeholder candidates and the registrar must presume that all candidates who submit candidate consent forms are bona fide candidates and must treat all petitions filed on their behalf the same for purposes of applying Subsec. Id., 554. Because meaning of challenged portion of statute prohibiting person circulating petitions for more than maximum number of candidates to be nominated by a party for same office or position is clear from statute’s purpose, practical application and legislative history, it is not unconstitutionally vague, and although it implicates core political speech, burden it imposes is slight and since it furthers important state interests it does not violate right to free speech or association. Id., 573.

Sec. 9-411. Number of candidates required on petition for town committee members. Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, no primary petition for town committee members shall be approved unless it contains the names of a number of candidates, other than party-endorsed candidates, equal in number to at least twenty-five per cent of the number of town committee members to be elected in the town or political subdivision, as the case may be.

Sec. 9-412. Registrar’s receipt and verification of petitions for candidacies for nomination to municipal office or election as town committee members. Filing with clerk. Upon the receipt of any page of a petition proposing a candidacy for a municipal office or for member of a town committee, the registrar shall forthwith sign and give to the person submitting the petition a receipt in duplicate, stating the number of pages filed and the date and time of filing and shall forthwith certify on each such page the number of signers on the page who were enrolled on the last-completed enrollment list of such party in the municipality or political subdivision, as the case may be, and shall forthwith file such certified page in person or by mail, as described in section 9-140b, with the clerk of the municipality, together with the registrar’s certificate as to the whole number of names on the last-completed enrollment list of such party in such municipality or political subdivision, as the case may be, within seven days after receipt of the page. In checking signatures on primary petition pages, the registrar shall reject any name if such name does not appear on the last-completed enrollment list in the municipality or political subdivision, as the case may be. Such rejection shall be indicated by placing a mark in a manner prescribed by the Secretary before the name so rejected. The registrar may place a check mark before each name appearing on the enrollment list to indicate approval but shall place no other mark on the page except as provided in this chapter. The registrar shall not reject any name for which the street address on the petition is different from the street address on the enrollment list, if (1) such person is eligible to vote for the candidate or candidates named in the petition, and (2) the person’s date of birth, as shown on the petition page, is the same as the date of birth on the person’s registration record. The registrar shall reject any page of a petition which does not contain the certifications provided in section 9-410, or which the registrar determines to have been circulated in violation of any other provision of section 9-410. Petitions filed with the municipal clerk shall be preserved for a period of three years and then may be destroyed.

History: 1959 act reduced from five to three years period municipal clerk must preserve petitions; 1963 act restated previous provisions; P.A. 77-213 provided for each circulator to be given a signed receipt by the registrar for the number of pages and date and time submitted; P.A. 78-125 provided for rejection by registrar of any sheet of a petition determined to have been circulated in violation of any other provisions in addition to omission of certifications required under Sec. 9-410; P.A. 78-153 substituted for “each circulator submitting a page or pages”, “the person so submitting a page or pages” to whom a receipt is given, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 93-384 added provision re rejection of name by registrar for which street address on petition is different from street address on enrollment list; P.A. 03-241 removed delegate petitions from application of section, substituted “Upon the receipt of any page of a petition” for “Upon the filing of any petition”, required registrar to “forthwith” sign and give person submitting petition a receipt “in duplicate”, inserted references to “political subdivision”, required registrar to file petitions with clerk “in person or by mail, as described in section 9-140b” and “within seven days after receipt of the page”, substituted “placing a mark in a manner prescribed by the Secretary” for “the placing of an “R”” and made conforming and technical changes, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Sec. 9-413a. Registrar to certify accuracy of enrollment list provided to candidate circulating primary petition. A registrar of voters who provides an enrollment list of a political party in a municipality, political subdivision or district to a candidate who will be circulating a primary petition for nomination by such party of such candidate to a state, district or municipal office, in accordance with sections 9-404a and 9-404b or sections 9-409 and 9-410, shall certify on the first page of such enrollment list that such list is the most recent and, to the best knowledge of the registrar, accurate enrollment list of such party in such municipality, political subdivision or district.

Sec. 9-414. Nominations not to exceed places to be filled; municipal primaries. No town committee, caucus or convention shall endorse and certify to the clerk of a municipality, and no primary shall choose, more candidates for nomination to municipal office or more persons as members of a town committee than an elector may vote for in each such case.

Sec. 9-415. When primary required. (a) If a candidacy for nomination by a political party to a state office is filed by or on behalf of any person other than a party-endorsed candidate within the time specified in subsection (a) of section 9-400 and in conformity with the provisions of section 9-400, a primary shall be held in each municipality of the state to determine the nominee of such party for such office, except as provided in section 9-416a.

(b) If a candidacy for nomination by a political party to a district office is filed by or on behalf of any person other than a party-endorsed candidate within the time specified in subsection (b) of section 9-400 and in conformity with the provisions of section 9-400, a primary shall be held in each municipality of the district and each part of a municipality which is a component part of the district, to determine the nominee of such party for such office, except as provided in section 9-416a.

(c) If a candidacy for nomination by a political party to a municipal office is filed by or on behalf of any person other than a party-endorsed candidate within the applicable time specified in section 9-405 and in conformity with the provisions of sections 9-405, 9-406, 9-406a, 9-409, 9-410, 9-412 and 9-414, a primary shall be held in the municipality or political subdivision thereof in which the nomination for municipal office is to be made, to determine the nominee of such party for such office, except as provided in section 9-418.

(d) If candidacies numbering at least twenty-five per cent of the number of town committee members to be elected by a party either in the municipality or in the political subdivision, as the case may be, are filed by or on behalf of persons other than party-endorsed candidates within the time specified in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 9-405 and in conformity with the provisions of sections 9-405, 9-406, 9-406a, 9-409 to 9-412, inclusive, and 9-414, a primary shall be held in the municipality or political subdivision thereof in which members of a town committee are to be elected, to elect the members of the town committee, except as provided in sections 9-419 and 9-421.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; 1967 act added, following “senatorial district”, “or assembly district or in each part of a municipality which is a component part of a senatorial district composed of a town or towns and a part or parts of another town or towns”; P.A. 73-657 added clarifying descriptive language for senatorial and assembly districts whose boundaries extend beyond limits of one town or part thereof; P.A. 79-616 changed references from Sec. 9-399 to Sec. 9-400 where appearing; P.A. 80-483 made technical changes; P.A. 81-447 added reference to Sec. 9-416a; P.A. 81-472 made technical changes; P.A. 03-241 replaced former provisions with new Subsecs. (a) to (e), inclusive, re when primaries required, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Sec. 9-416. No-contest nominations; state or district office. If (1) at a state or district convention no person other than a party-endorsed candidate has received at least fifteen per cent of the votes of the delegates present and voting on any roll-call vote taken on the endorsement or proposed endorsement of a candidate for a state or district office, and (2) within the time specified in section 9-400, no candidacy for nomination by a political party to a state or district office has been filed by or on behalf of a person other than a party-endorsed candidate in conformity with the provisions of section 9-400, no primary shall be held by such party for such office and the party-endorsed candidate for such office shall be deemed to have been lawfully chosen as the nominee of such party for such office.

Sec. 9-416a. Failure of party to endorse; state or district office. If a party has made no endorsement of a candidate for a particular state or district office, and if within the time specified in section 9-400, a candidacy for such party’s nomination to such office is filed in conformity with the provisions of said section by not more than one person, no primary shall be held by such party for such office and the person filing such candidacy shall be deemed to have been lawfully chosen as the nominee of such party for such office.

Sec. 9-417. No-contest nominations; municipal office and town committee members. If within the time specified in section 9-405, no candidacy for nomination by a political party to a municipal office has been filed by or on behalf of a person other than a party-endorsed candidate or, in the case of election as member of the town committee of such party, by persons other than party-endorsed candidates numbering at least twenty-five per cent of the number of town committee members to be elected by such party either in the municipality or in the political subdivision, as the case may be, in conformity with the provisions of sections 9-405 to 9-412, inclusive, and 9-414, no primary shall be held by such party for such office or for town committee members, as the case may be, and the party-endorsed candidate or candidates for such office shall be deemed to have been lawfully chosen as the nominee or nominees of such party to such office, or, as the case may be, and the party-endorsed candidates for election as members of the town committee shall be deemed to have been lawfully elected to such positions at the times specified in section 9-392.

Sec. 9-418. Failure of party to endorse; municipal office. (a) If within the time specified in section 9-391, a party has failed, with respect to the office of state senator or state representative, to certify to the Secretary of the State, or with respect to any other municipal office to be filled, to certify to the clerk of the municipality, the name of any person as a party-endorsed candidate, and if within the time specified in section 9-405, a candidacy for nomination to such office is filed in conformity with the provisions of sections 9-400 to 9-414, inclusive, by not more than one person, no primary shall be held by such party for such office and the person filing such candidacy shall be deemed to have been lawfully chosen as the nominee of such party for such office.

(b) If within the time specified in section 9-391, a party has failed, with respect to any municipal office to be filled by two or more persons, to certify to the clerk of the municipality names of persons as party-endorsed candidates equal in number to the number of persons to be nominated to such office, and if within the time specified in section 9-405, a candidacy or candidacies for nomination to such office are filed in conformity with the provisions of sections 9-400 to 9-414, inclusive, by a number of persons not more than the number for which the party has failed to certify names, no primary shall be held by such party for such office, and each of the party-endorsed candidates and each of the persons filing such candidacies shall be deemed to have been lawfully chosen as the nominees of such party for such office.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; P.A. 79-616 changed reference from Sec. 9-399 to Sec. 9-400 where appearing; P.A. 05-235 divided section into Subsecs. (a) and (b), amended Subsec. (a) by adding “the office of state senator or state representative, to certify to the Secretary of the State, or with respect to” and “other”, and amended Subsec. (b) by adding “by two or more persons”.

Sec. 9-419. Failure of party to endorse; town committee members. If within the time specified in section 9-391, a party has failed, with respect to the election of town committee members, to certify to the clerk of the municipality names of persons as party-endorsed candidates equal in number to the number of positions as town committee members to be filled, and if within the time specified in section 9-405, a candidacy or candidacies for election as town committee members are filed in conformity with the provisions of sections 9-400 to 9-414, inclusive, by a number of persons equal to at least twenty-five per cent of the number of town committee members to be elected by such party either in the municipality or in the political subdivision, as the case may be, such number being not more than the number of positions for which the town committee has failed to certify names, no primary shall be held by such party for the election of town committee members, and each of the party-endorsed candidates and each of the persons filing such candidacies shall be deemed to have been lawfully elected as town committee members at the times specified in section 9-392; provided the number of positions to be filled shall be equal to the maximum number of town committee members for the town or political subdivision, as the case may be, as specified in the rules of such party whenever such rules specify a minimum and maximum number.

Sec. 9-420. Persons selected as convention delegates by party deemed lawfully selected. The persons selected by a political party to serve as delegates to a convention shall be deemed to have been lawfully selected as such delegates or district delegates.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; P.A. 79-616 changed reference from Sec. 9-399 to Sec. 9-400; P.A. 03-241 deleted provisions re when primary shall not be held for election of delegates and substituted requirement that persons selected by party to serve as convention delegates are deemed to have been lawfully selected as such delegates, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Sec. 9-421. When primary not to be held for town committee members. Any provision of sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, to the contrary notwithstanding, no primary shall be held by a party for the election of a member of a town committee unless candidacies for such election numbering at least twenty-five per cent of the number of town committee members to be elected by such party either in the municipality or in the political subdivision, as the case may be, are filed in conformity with the provisions of sections 9-400 to 9-414, inclusive, by persons other than party-endorsed candidates.

Sec. 9-422. Primaries for justices of the peace. Any provision of sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, to the contrary notwithstanding, no primary shall be held for nomination by a party to the office of justice of the peace unless candidacies for such nomination numbering at least a bare majority of the number of justices of the peace to be nominated by such party are filed in conformity with the provisions of sections 9-400 to 9-414, inclusive, by persons other than party-endorsed candidates.

Sec. 9-423. Time for primaries; state, district or municipal office. (a) The primaries of all parties for nomination to an office to be voted upon at a state election shall be held on the second Tuesday in August in the year in which such state election is held.

(b) The primaries of all parties for nomination to an office to be voted upon at a municipal election shall be held on the fifty-sixth day preceding the day of the election.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; P.A. 74-25 changed primary day for party whose candidate for governor polled higher number of votes at the last-preceding election to the fifty-fourth day preceding the day of election and for all other parties to the fifty-sixth day preceding the day of election, effective January 1, 1975 with respect to selection of town committee members and delegates to conventions; P.A. 75-396 changed primaries for all parties to the fifty-sixth day preceding the day of the election, effective January 1, 1976; P.A. 03-241 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (b), added Subsec. (a) re primary date for nomination to office to be voted upon at state election, and amended Subsec. (b) by limiting provisions to nomination to office “to be voted upon at a municipal election”, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

History: 1961 act made publication of notice 56 rather than 42 days before primary; 1963 acts restated previous provisions and required mailing of copy of notice to municipal clerk; P.A. 75-396 provided that the first Tuesday in March be the primary day for election of town committee members, effective January 1, 1976; P.A. 77-195 added “in even-numbered years”.

Sec. 9-426. Cancellation of primary for office or town committee due to vacancies in non-party-endorsed candidacies. Slate vacancies. If only one candidacy has been filed by a person other than a party-endorsed candidate for the nomination by a political party to a particular office and the candidate whose candidacy has been so filed thereafter, but prior to the opening of the polls at such primary, dies, withdraws his name from nomination or for any reason becomes disqualified to hold the office for which he is a candidate, no primary shall be held for the nomination of such party to that office and the party-endorsed candidate for such office shall be deemed to have been lawfully chosen in the same manner and to the same extent as is provided in sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, in the case where no candidacy other than a party-endorsed candidacy has been filed. If candidacies have been filed by only one group of persons other than party-endorsed candidates for election to a town committee, and the candidates whose candidacies have been so filed thereafter, but prior to the opening of the polls at such primary, die, withdraw their names from nomination or for any reason become disqualified to hold the positions for which they are candidates, so as to render the number of candidacies so filed less than twenty-five per cent of the number of town committee members to be elected by such party either in the municipality or in the political subdivision, as the case may be, no primary shall be held for those positions and the party-endorsed candidates for such positions shall be deemed to have been lawfully chosen in the same manner and to the same extent as is provided in sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, in the case where no candidacies other than party-endorsed candidacies have been filed. If any person on a slate, prior to the opening of the polls at such primary, dies, withdraws his name from nomination or for any reason becomes disqualified to hold the position for which he is a candidate, such partial slate shall appear on the ballot at the primary and, if such partial slate wins, then the remaining members may fill the vacancy. If only one such slate other than a slate of party-endorsed candidates has been filed for election and prior to the opening of the polls at such primary each of the persons on such slate dies, withdraws or becomes disqualified, no primary shall be held for those positions and the party-endorsed candidates for those positions shall be deemed to have been lawfully chosen in the same manner and to the same extent as is provided in sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, in the case where no candidacies other than party-endorsed candidacies have been filed.

History: 1963 acts restated previous provisions and made technical revision of language; P.A. 83-475 amended section to apply to withdrawal from nomination at any time before opening of polls at primary; P.A. 03-241 deleted exclusion re persons on a slate “other than a slate of party-endorsed candidates for election as delegates or district delegates to a particular convention of a political party”, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; pursuant to P.A. 11-20, “ballot label” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “ballot”, effective May 24, 2011.

Sec. 9-427. Cancellation of delegate primary due to vacancies in party-endorsed candidacies; filling of vacancies when incomplete party-endorsed slate wins delegate primary. Section 9-427 is repealed, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Sec. 9-428. Vacancy in party-endorsed candidacy. If a party-endorsed candidate for nomination to an office or for election to the position of town committee member, prior to twenty-four hours before the opening of the polls at the primary, dies or, prior to ten days before the day of such primary, withdraws his name from nomination or for any reason becomes disqualified to hold the office or position for which he is a candidate, the state central committee, the town committee or other authority of the party which endorsed such candidate may make an endorsement to fill such vacancy or provide for the making of such endorsement, in such manner as is prescribed in the rules of such party, and certify to the registrar and municipal clerk or to the Secretary of the State, as the case may be, the name of the person so endorsed. If such certification is made at least twenty-four hours prior to the opening of the polls at the primary, in the case of such an endorsement to replace a candidate who has died, or at least seven days before the day of such primary, in the case of such an endorsement to replace a candidate who has withdrawn or become disqualified, such person so endorsed shall run in the primary as the party-endorsed candidate, except as provided in sections 9-416 and 9-417. If such certification of another party-endorsed candidate has been made within the time specified in this section, and if the ballots have already been printed and the names of the candidates for such office or position appear on the ballots, the Secretary of the State or the registrar, as the case may be, shall direct the clerk of each municipality holding such primary to have the ballots reprinted with the name of the person so certified included thereon; provided, in the case of such an endorsement to replace a candidate who has died, if such certification has been made less than ninety-six hours but at least twenty-four hours prior to the opening of the polls at the primary, such Secretary or registrar shall direct such clerk to have stickers printed and inserted upon the ballots, having the name of the person so certified appearing thereon, and the moderator in each polling place shall cause such stickers to be pasted on the ballots before the opening of the polls at such primary.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; 1969 act provided for certification to the registrar and town clerk instead of the registrar; P.A. 77-245 substituted “municipal” for “town” clerk; P.A. 03-241 removed convention delegate candidates from application of section, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; pursuant to P.A. 11-20, “ballot labels” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “ballots”, effective May 24, 2011.

Sec. 9-429. Cancellation of primary for office or town committee when vacancies in candidacies result in no contest. If, prior to the opening of the polls at a primary for nomination to an office or for election of town committee members, such a number of candidates have died, withdrawn their names or become ineligible, and have not been replaced as permitted in sections 9-426 and 9-428, as to render the total number of candidates for such office or position no greater than the number to be nominated to such office or elected to such positions, the primary shall not be held, and each of the party-endorsed and other candidates shall be deemed to have been lawfully nominated to such office or elected to such positions.

Sec. 9-430. Withdrawal procedure. No candidate shall be deemed to have withdrawn under the provisions of section 9-426, 9-428 or 9-429 until a letter of withdrawal signed by such candidate is filed with the municipal clerk in the case of municipal office or town committee member, or with the Secretary of the State in the case of state or district office.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; P.A. 03-241 removed delegate candidates from application of section, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Sec. 9-431. Eligibility to vote at primary. (a) No person shall be permitted to vote at a primary of a party unless (1) he is on the last-completed enrollment list of such party in the municipality or voting district, as the case may be, or (2) if authorized by the state rules of such party filed pursuant to section 9-374, he is an unaffiliated elector in the municipality or voting district, as the case may be, provided if two or more such parties are holding primaries on the same day in such municipality or voting district, whether for the same offices or different offices, such unaffiliated elector may vote in the primary of only one such party. Such state party rules may authorize unaffiliated electors to vote for some or all offices to be contested at its primaries.

(b) Any such person offering to vote and being challenged as to his identity or residence shall, before he votes, prove by the testimony, under oath, of at least one other elector qualified to vote in such primary or by such other evidence acceptable to the moderator either of the following which are applicable: (1) His identity with the person on whose name he offers to vote or (2) his bona fide residence in the municipality or political subdivision holding the primary, as the case may be. The rules of each party in each municipality shall prescribe whether members of the town committee shall be elected from the municipality at large, in which case any person on the last-completed enrollment list of such party in such municipality shall be eligible to vote in a primary for the election of such committee members, or whether such committee members shall be elected from political subdivisions of such municipality, in which case only persons on the last-completed list of such party in such a political subdivision shall be eligible to vote in a primary for the election of such committee members from such political subdivision; provided no town committee in any municipality shall be elected both at large and from political subdivisions.

(c) Any citizen who has not yet attained the age of eighteen years but who will have attained the age of eighteen years on or before the day of a regular election, and who: (1) Is otherwise qualified to be an elector, and (2) has applied for admission as an elector, may vote at a primary of a party held for such regular election pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section.

History: 1961 act added provisions re proof of identity on challenge; 1963 act restated previous provisions; 1965 act provided clarifying language in requirement for proof of continued residence both with reference to registry lists and enrollment lists; 1971 act added clarifying language with respect to state-wide primaries or primaries for district office where person has moved within the district, and in both cases has requested continuance; P.A. 73-630 deleted previous amendment; P.A. 75-348 provided for proof “or by such other evidence acceptable to the moderator”, further provided for substitution of “bona fide residence” for the language pertaining to continued residence; P.A. 87-509 divided section into Subsecs. and, in Subsec. (a) added Subdiv. (2), permitting unaffiliated electors to vote in primary of a party if authorized by state rules of such party, and in Subsec. (b), substituted “political subdivision holding the primary” for “voting district” and deleted provision that person not required to prove residence in former voting district or ward when moving from one voting district or ward to another within a municipality; P.A. 09-36 added Subsec. (c) re eligibility of citizen who has not yet attained age eighteen, but who will have attained age eighteen on or before the day of regular election, to vote at party primary, effective May 20, 2009.

Sec. 9-431a. Eligibility to vote at caucus, primary or town convention. A person whose name does not appear on the registry list of any town or district shall not be eligible to vote in any caucus, primary or town convention within such town.

Sec. 9-433. Notice of primary; state and district office. (a) After the deadline set forth in section 9-400 for filing candidacies, and upon the completion of the tabulation of petition signatures, if any, if one or more candidacies for nomination by a political party to a state or district office have been filed in accordance with the provisions of section 9-400, the Secretary of the State shall notify the clerk of each town within the state or within the district, as the case may be, that a primary is to be held by such party for the nomination of such party to such office. Such notice shall include a list of all the proposed candidates, those endorsed by the convention as well as those filing candidacies, together with their addresses and the titles of the office for which they are candidates and, if applicable, a statement that unaffiliated electors may vote in the primary. The clerk of each such town shall thereupon cause such notice to be published forthwith in a newspaper having a general circulation in such town, or towns in the case of a joint publication under subsection (b) of this section, together with a statement of the date upon which the primary is to be held, the hours during which the polls shall be open and the location of the polls.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of any charter or home rule ordinance, the warning under subsection (a) of this section may be published jointly by two or more towns in a newspaper, provided all other requirements of this section with respect to such warning are met.

History: 1963 acts restated previous provisions and deleted requirement that notice be posted on public signpost; P.A. 79-616 deleted reference to petition signatures under Sec. 9-403 and substituted reference to expiration of the fourteen-day period under Sec. 9-400 and further provided for notification of primary where one or more candidacies have been filed; P.A. 87-509 required notice to include, if applicable, statement that unaffiliated electors may vote in primary; P.A. 03-241 substituted “After the deadline set forth in section 9-400 for filing candidacies, and upon the completion of the tabulation of petition signatures, if any,” for “Upon the expiration of the fourteen-day period prescribed by section 9-400, and” and made a technical change, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 11-173 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a) and amended same to add language re joint publication, and added Subsec. (b) re joint publication, effective July 1, 2011.

Sec. 9-434. Verification of names on filing with municipal clerk. Exception. Upon the filing with the clerk of a municipality of the names of party-endorsed candidates pursuant to section 9-390 or upon the filing with such clerk of petitions for contesting candidates pursuant to section 9-412, such clerk shall verify and correct the names of any such candidate as the candidate authorizes the candidate’s name to appear on the ballot, pursuant to the certificate filed in accordance with subsection (c) of section 9-391 or the statement of consent filed in accordance with section 9-409, as applicable, endorse the same as having been so verified and corrected and use the same in the preparation of the ballots for the primary. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the municipal offices of state senator and state representative.

Sec. 9-435. Notice of primary; municipal office or town committee members. Except as provided in sections 9-418 and 9-419, if in any municipality, within the time specified in section 9-405, a candidacy for nomination by a political party to any municipal office or for election as a town committee member is filed with the registrar, in conformity with the provisions of sections 9-405 to 9-412, inclusive, and section 9-414, by or on behalf of any person other than party-endorsed candidates, the registrar shall forthwith after the deadline for certification of party-endorsed candidates notify the clerk of such municipality that a primary is to be held by such party for the nomination of such party to such office or for the election by such party of town committee members, as the case may be. Such notice shall include a list of all the proposed candidates, those endorsed as well as those filing candidacies, together with their addresses and the titles of the offices or positions for which they are candidates. In the case of a primary for justices of the peace, such notice shall also contain the complete ballot designation of each slate pursuant to subsection (h) of section 9-437. The clerk of the municipality shall thereupon cause such notice to be published forthwith in a newspaper having a general circulation in such municipality, together with a statement of the date upon which the primary is to be held, the hours during which the polls shall be open and the location of the polls. The clerk of the municipality shall also file such notice with the Secretary of the State not later than three business days after receipt of such notice from the registrar of voters. The clerk shall forthwith publish any change in the proposed candidates, listing such changes.

History: 1963 acts restated previous provisions and deleted requirement that notice be posted on public signpost; P.A. 79-616 changed reference to Sec. 9-399 to Sec. 9-400 and further added “of such notice” to the provision for a copy to be sent to the secretary of the state; P.A. 87-472 required notice, in case of primary for convention delegates, to also contain complete ballot label designation of each slate pursuant to Sec. 9-437(h); P.A. 03-241 removed convention delegate candidacies from application of section, changed section references, applied provisions to persons other than party-endorsed candidates, added reference to notification “after the deadline for certification of party-endorsed candidates” and substituted “justices of the peace” for “delegates to a convention”, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 11-20 replaced “ballot label” with “ballot” and replaced provision re notice to Secretary of the State and recording same with provision requiring clerk to file notice with Secretary not later than 3 business days after receipt thereof from registrar, effective May 24, 2011; P.A. 11-173 made identical changes as P.A. 11-20, effective July 13, 2011.

Sec. 9-436. Use, number and adjustment of voting tabulators; voting booths; conditions and rules for use of paper ballots; qualification, appointment and training of primary officials. (a) Voting tabulators shall be used at each primary, provided, (1) if, because of the number of offices and positions to be voted upon at a primary, there is an insufficient number of vertical columns on any ballot to be used in a municipality, the vote in such municipality at such primary for such offices or positions as the Secretary of the State determines shall be taken by paper ballots, and (2) if, because of the number of candidates for any office or position to be voted upon at a primary, there is an insufficient number of horizontal rows with respect to such office or position on any ballot to be used in the municipality, the vote in such municipality at such primary for such office or position shall be taken by paper ballots. More than one voting tabulator may be used in any voting district if the registrar so prescribes. The registrar shall furnish a number of voting booths sufficient to provide a voting booth for each five hundred or fraction of five hundred electors eligible to vote at such primary in the municipality or voting district, as the case may be, and other necessary equipment. In each polling place in which a party has authorized unaffiliated electors, pursuant to section 9-431, to vote for some but not all offices to be contested at the primary, a separate voting tabulator shall be used for such unaffiliated electors and the registrar shall separately furnish one voting booth for each five hundred or fraction of five hundred enrolled party members and one voting booth for each five hundred or fraction of five hundred unaffiliated electors authorized to vote at such primary in such district. In determining such number of electors, enrolled party members or unaffiliated electors, the registrar shall not count the names on the enrollment or registry lists of seventy-five per cent of such electors, unaffiliated electors or enrolled party members who reside in institutions, as defined in section 9-159q. The registrar may provide more than the minimum number of voting booths required by this section.

(b) Each tabulator shall be so arranged that the elector may vote for as many persons for nomination or election to each office or position as there are persons to be nominated or elected, as the case may be, and no more, and so that the elector may vote for individual candidates; provided the vote for justices of the peace shall be by slate, as provided in section 9-443.

(c) The registrar shall appoint from among the enrolled party members in the state, to serve in each polling place, the primary polling place officials, who shall consist of one moderator, at least one, but not more than two official checkers, not more than two challengers if the registrar deems it necessary, and at least one and not more than two ballot clerks and at least one but not more than two voting tabulator tenders for each tabulator in use at such primary and, in towns with two or more voting districts at least one and not more than two assistant registrars, provided (1) in the case of either a municipality or a political subdivision holding a primary, if no enrolled party member can be found or no such person consents to serve as a moderator, the registrar may appoint any elector who resides in the state and is a certified moderator to be moderator, (2) in the case of a political subdivision holding a primary, if an insufficient number of enrolled party members who reside in the state consent to serve as checkers, challengers, voting tabulator tenders or assistant registrars, the registrar may appoint any elector who resides in the state to be a checker, challenger, voting tabulator tender or assistant registrar, and (3) in the case of either a municipality or a political subdivision holding more than one primary on the same day for different political parties, one certified moderator may serve as moderator for both primaries, if the registrars of voters so agree. If unaffiliated electors are authorized under section 9-431 to vote for some but not all of the offices to be contested at the primary, the registrar shall appoint two additional checkers to check the list of unaffiliated electors who are authorized to vote on the separate tabulators. If unaffiliated electors are authorized under section 9-431 to vote in the primary of either of two parties in the same polling place, whether for some or for all offices to be contested at the primary, each such registrar shall appoint two additional checkers to check the list of unaffiliated electors who are authorized to vote in either such primary.

(d) The registrar shall designate one of the moderators so appointed by the registrar to be head moderator or shall appoint as head moderator an elector who is not also moderator of a polling place and who shall be deemed a primary official. The registrar may also appoint a deputy head moderator to assist the head moderator in the performance of the head moderator’s duties. A deputy head moderator shall also be deemed to be a primary official. Each registrar’s appointments of primary polling place officials, except moderators of polling places, and of designees to conduct supervised voting of absentee ballots pursuant to sections 9-159q and 9-159r shall be divided equally, as nearly as may be, between designees of the party-endorsed candidates and designees of one or more of the contestants, provided, if a party-endorsed candidate is a member of a party other than the one holding the primary, such primary officials shall be enrolled party members of the party holding the primary. Names of designees and alternate designees for such positions shall be submitted in writing by party-endorsed candidates and contestants to the registrar not later than twenty-one days before the primary and, if such lists are not so presented, all such appointments shall be made by the registrar but in the above-mentioned proportion. The registrar shall notify all such candidates and contestants of their right to submit a list of designees under this section. The registrars shall train each prospective primary poll worker to perform in the poll worker’s designated position. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the registrar shall appoint as moderators only persons who are certified to serve as moderators or alternate moderators pursuant to section 9-229, unless there is an insufficient number of such persons who are enrolled members of the registrar’s party holding the primary, in which case the registrar may appoint a new moderator in accordance with section 9-229, but only to the extent of such insufficiency. Primary central counting moderators and absentee ballot counters shall also be deemed primary officials. No primary official shall perform services for any candidate at the primary on primary day.

(e) If paper ballots are required for the vote on any office or position in a municipality, the clerk of the municipality, in consultation with the registrars of voters, shall print a paper ballot for use in such primary for nomination to such office or election to such position. The Secretary of the State shall prescribe the form of such paper ballot. The Secretary of the State may prescribe general rules for the use of paper ballots in any primary, including the duties of officials at the polls with regard to the same, the marking of the same and the counting of the same. The procedure to be followed when paper ballots are so used shall conform, as nearly as may be, to the procedure applicable to voting tabulators provided in this chapter and to the law governing the use of paper ballots in regular elections and such rules shall have the force and effect of law. Chapter 54 shall not apply to rules made pursuant to this section.

(f) The provisions of section 9-258 concerning additional lines of electors at a polling place, and of section 9-258a concerning two shifts of officials at a polling place, shall apply to a primary. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the provisions of the general statutes relating to the use of voting tabulators at regular elections shall apply as nearly as may be to the use of voting tabulators at primaries.

History: 1963 acts restated previous provisions and placed time limit on submission of designees for primary officials to registrar; 1971 act provided for designation of a head moderator by the registrar; P.A. 82-426 amended section to provide that names of designees and alternates for primary moderator are to be submitted 21 days before primary and to require appointment of only certified moderators unless the number of such persons is insufficient; P.A. 82-472 substituted reference to Ch. 54 for obsolete reference to repealed Secs. 4-41 to 4-50; P.A. 83-391 amended section to reduce number of voting machines and officials required, to provide that mechanics need not be electors of any town and to provide that provisions of Secs. 9-258 and 9-258a concerning additional lines of electors and shifts of officials shall apply to primaries and to prohibit primary officials from performing services for any candidate on the day of the primary; P.A. 84-319 added requirement that registrar notify candidates and contestants of their right to submit list of designees for election official positions; P.A. 85-592 authorized registrars to appoint a deputy head moderator who shall be deemed a primary official; P.A. 87-382 repealed provision re locking of party levers; P.A. 87-509 substituted “electors eligible to vote at such primary” for “enrolled party members whose names are on the last-completed enrollment list”, established requirement for separate voting machines for unaffiliated electors in each polling place in which a party authorizes unaffiliated electors to vote for some but not all offices to be contested at primary, required registrar to appoint at least one assistant registrar as a primary polling place official in a town with two or more voting districts, required appointment of two additional checkers if unaffiliated electors authorized to vote for some but not all offices to be contested at primary and required appointment of two additional checkers if unaffiliated electors authorized to vote in primary of either of two parties in same polling place; P.A. 89-297 allowed registrar, in case of a political subdivision holding a primary, to appoint enrolled party members residing elsewhere in municipality to serve as moderator, checker, challenger or voting machine tender, when necessary; P.A. 90-156 authorized registrar to appoint any enrolled party member residing in municipality to be an assistant registrar if insufficient number of enrolled party members residing in political subdivision holding primary consent to be assistant registrars; P.A. 93-384 renumbered Subdivs. and inserted new Subdivs. (2) and (4) authorizing appointment of any resident elector when enrolled party members cannot be found or do not consent to serve as primary officials, effective June 29, 1993; P.A. 94-203 required registrars to exclude 75% of names of electors, enrolled party members or unaffiliated electors residing in institutions when calculating required number of voting machines, effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 95-177 divided section into Subsecs., divided Subsec. (a) into Subdivs., made technical changes, amended Subsec. (e) by adding provision re designees to conduct supervised voting, and moved provisions re additional lines, shifts of officials and statutes re voting machines applying at primaries to Subsec. (g), effective January 1, 1996; P.A. 96-119, effective May 24, 1996, and P.A. 96-180, effective June 3, 1996, both deleted provision in Subsec. (g) specifying that Chapter 54 is inapplicable to rules made under this section; P.A. 97-47 amended Subsec. (e) by changing the reference to Secs. 9-150q and 9-150r to Secs. 9-159q and 9-159r, respectively; P.A. 98-67 amended Subsec. (e) to exempt polling place moderators from requirement that polling place officials be divided between designees of candidates, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 03-241 amended Subsec. (a) by substituting “twenty-four hundred” for “twelve hundred” and amended Subsec. (c) by substituting “justices of the peace” for “delegates to conventions”, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 11-20 replaced references to voting machines or machines with references to voting tabulators, ballots or voting booths throughout, amended Subsec. (a) by changing required number of booths to one for each 500 or fraction of 500 electors or unaffiliated electors, deleted former Subsec. (b) re mechanics, redesignated existing Subsecs. (c) to (g) as Subsecs. (b) to (f), amended Subsec. (c) by adding provisions re ballot clerks and maximum number of official checkers and tabulator tenders and by adding Subdiv. (5) re holding of more than one primary, amended Subsec. (d) by deleting reference to mechanics, and amended Subsec. (e) by adding provision re consultation with registrars of voters, effective May 24, 2011; P.A. 12-49 amended Subsec. (c) by replacing provisions re appointment of party members in the municipality or political subdivision with provisions re appointment of party members in the state, deleting former Subdiv. (1) re appointment in the case of a political subdivision holding a primary and former Subdiv. (4) re appointment when sufficient number of enrolled party members cannot be found or will not serve, redesignating existing Subdivs. (2), (3), and (5) as Subdivs. (1), (2) and (3), replacing “enrolled party member” with “elector” re appointment to serve as checker, challenger, voting tabulator tender or assistant registrar in redesignated Subdiv. (2) and making a technical change, and amended Subsec. (d) by changing the deadline for submission of names of designees and alternates from ten to twenty-one days before the primary, adding provision re training for poll workers and making technical changes, effective May 31, 2012.

Sec. 9-436a. Candidate checkers. Each group of candidates whose names appear in one single row on the official ballot in a voting district for a primary to be held by a political party may designate, for each line of electors voting in such primary at such voting district, not more than two electors enrolled in such party in the town in which such voting district is located, to serve as candidate checkers on behalf of the candidates whose names appear in such row, provided a registrar may establish two or more shifts for candidate checkers, in which case each such group of candidates may designate the candidate checkers for each shift. No primary official shall perform the functions of a candidate checker pursuant to this section. The candidates shall submit a list of the names of such designees to the registrar of voters for such party not later than forty-eight hours before the primary. The registrar shall notify the candidates of this obligation. Such registrar of voters shall verify that each such designee is enrolled in such party in such town and shall appoint in each voting district not more than two such designees, for each line, to serve each such row for each shift. The registrar shall, at the request of such a group of candidates, change such designations at any time before the closing of the polls on the day of a primary. No candidate for nomination in such primary may be a candidate checker at such primary. The registrar of voters shall furnish each candidate checker one copy of the list or lists of electors eligible to vote in such primary. Candidate checkers may remain within the polling place for the purpose of checking their own copy of such list to indicate the names of electors who have voted. Such checkers may enter and leave the restricted area surrounding the polling place during the hours of voting for the purpose of taking such information outside said area. If any such candidate checker interferes with the orderly process of voting or attempts to influence any elector, he shall be evicted by the moderator. A candidate checker appointed pursuant to this section may receive compensation from the municipality in which the primary is held.

History: P.A. 83-391 amended section to prohibit primary officials from performing functions of candidate checkers and to permit municipalities to compensate candidate checkers; P.A. 84-319 added requirement that registrar notify candidates of obligation to designate candidate checkers; P.A. 87-509 substituted “candidates” for “electors” and added “each line of electors voting in such primary at” in first sentence and changed references to enrollment lists to lists of electors eligible to vote in primary; P.A. 93-384 authorized registrar to establish two or more shifts for candidate checkers and to require registrar, at request of a group of candidates, to change designations of checkers, effective June 29, 1993.

Sec. 9-437. Form of ballot. Position of candidates’ names on ballot. Sample ballots. Voting instructions and information. (a) At the top of each ballot shall be printed the name of the party holding the primary, and each ballot shall contain the names of all candidates to be voted upon at such primary, except the names of justices of the peace. The vertical columns shall be headed by the designation of the office or position and instructions as to the number for which an elector may vote for such office or position, in the same manner as a ballot used in a regular election. The name of each candidate for town committee or municipal office, except for the municipal offices of state senator and state representative, shall appear on the ballot as it appears on the registry list of such candidate’s town of voting residence, except as provided in section 9-42a. The name of each candidate for state or district office or for the municipal offices of state senator or state representative shall appear on the ballot as it appears on the certificate or statement of consent filed under section 9-388, 9-391, 9-400 or 9-409. On the first horizontal line, below the designation of the office or position in each column, shall be placed the name of the party-endorsed candidate for such office or position, such name to be marked with an asterisk; provided, where more than one person may be voted for for any office or position, the names of the party-endorsed candidates shall be arranged in alphabetical order from left to right under the appropriate office or position designation and shall continue, if necessary, from left to right on the next lower line or lines. In the case of no party endorsement there shall be inserted the designation “no party endorsement” at the head of the vertical column, immediately beneath the designation of the office or position. On the horizontal lines below the line for party-endorsed candidates shall be placed, in the appropriate columns, the names of all other candidates as hereinafter provided.

(b) (1) In the case of two or more such candidates for the same state or district office, precedence as to row shall be determined by the alphabetical order of the surnames of such candidates, except as provided under subdivision (2) of this subsection. (2) If a single certificate or a single petition has been filed under subsection (a) of section 9-400 on behalf of two or more candidates and proposing one candidate for each state office to be contested at such primary, a single row shall be used for the names of such candidates and precedence as to row between such certificates and petitions shall be determined by the Secretary of the State by lot in a ceremony which shall be open to the public. The names of all other candidates for state office shall be placed in the appropriate columns in alphabetical order on the rows below the row or rows used for candidates whose names are contained in such a single certificate, certificates, single petition or petitions.

(c) Whenever the position of candidates or slates on the ballot under the provisions of this section is affected by the time or order of filing of primary petitions, and the registrar of voters certifies in writing to the town clerk that (1) two or more of the petitions to which such provisions apply were filed simultaneously, or (2) the registrar is unable to determine the time or order of filing of two or more such petitions, then for purposes of this section the order of filing of the petitions specified in the registrar’s certification shall be determined by the town clerk by lot in a ceremony which shall be open to the public.

(d) In the case of candidates for municipal office, a single row shall be used for the candidates whose names are contained in one primary petition, provided such petition proposes at least two candidates and the full number of candidates for each office to be contested at such primary as the party may nominate or choose thereat, precedence as to row being given to the candidates whose names appear in the first such petition filed, and so on in descending order.

(e) The names of candidates for town committee members which are contained in one primary petition shall be placed in a separate row, precedence as to row being given to the candidates whose names appear in petitions in the order determined in accordance with this subsection. Petitions filed by nine o’clock a.m. on the first business day following the day on which petitions become available shall be given precedence as to row based on the number of valid signatures filed, in descending order from the greatest to the least. Petitions filed after nine o’clock a.m. on the first business day following the day on which petitions become available shall be given precedence as to row based on the order in which they are filed, if such petitions are filed during the regular business hours of the office of the registrars of voters or during any different hours for said office required under the general statutes. Such order of precedence shall be determined separately for petitions proposing the full number of candidates which the party may choose at the primary and for petitions proposing fewer than such full number of candidates, and provided further that petitions proposing such full number of candidates shall have precedence as to row over petitions proposing fewer than such full number of candidates.

(f) Within such row or rows for those whose names are contained in one primary petition, where more than one person may be voted for any municipal office or position, such names shall be arranged in alphabetical order from left to right under the appropriate municipal office or position designation. The names of all other candidates shall be placed in the appropriate columns in alphabetical order on the horizontal lines below the line or lines used for candidates whose names are contained in one primary petition, if any; provided where more than one person may be voted for for any office or position, such names shall be arranged in alphabetical order from left to right under the appropriate office or position designation and shall continue, if necessary, from left to right on the next lower line or lines.

(g) The name of each candidate shall appear on the ballot in such position as is hereinbefore required, and such position shall be determined as of the final time for filing candidacies specified in section 9-400 or 9-405. Vacancies in candidacies thereafter occurring shall not cause the position of any candidate’s name on the ballot to be changed to another position. The name of any candidate whose candidacy has been vacated shall not appear on the ballot. If such a vacancy results in the cancellation of a primary for any office, the office column or columns where the names of the candidates and the title of the office would have appeared if the primary for that office had not been cancelled shall be left blank. If a vacancy occurs in a party-endorsed candidacy and a person is chosen in accordance with section 9-426 or 9-428 to fill the resulting vacancy in candidacy, the name of the person so chosen shall appear in the same position as that in which the name of the vacating candidate appeared. The municipal clerk shall have the ballot prepared so that the name of any candidate who has vacated such candidate’s candidacy is deleted and so that the name of any candidate chosen to fill a vacancy in candidacy appears in the same position as that in which the vacated candidacy appeared. The municipal clerk may use blank or printed stickers, as the case may be, in preparing the ballots if the ballots were printed before the occurrence of the vacancy in candidacy or the selection of a candidate to fill a vacancy in candidacy. The order of the offices and positions shall be as prescribed by the Secretary of the State.

(h) The names of candidates for election as justices of the peace shall not appear on the ballot. A single vertical column shall be used for all the candidates for election to the office of justice of the peace of a particular town. The vertical column used for justices of the peace shall be headed by the words “justices of the peace”. On the first horizontal line in the vertical column used for justice of the peace shall be placed the words “party-endorsed slate”. On the second and succeeding horizontal lines, in the order of the time of filing, shall be placed the words “challenge slate”, preceded, in quotation marks, by the letter designating such line. The municipal clerk shall prepare a list of the names of all candidates on each slate for election as justices of the peace, including the complete ballot designation of each such slate as provided in this subsection, which shall be posted in the polling places by each moderator for the inspection of the electors prior to voting.

(i) The names of candidates for nomination to any elective office or for election as members of a town committee, as the case may be, shall be separated from each other by a light line, but shall not be separated from each other on the ballot by names of candidates for any other office or position or by columns used for any other office or position; and the column or columns used for each office or position shall be separated from the columns used for other offices or positions by a heavy line.

(j) All ballots used at a primary shall be prepared by the clerk of the municipality in which such primary is held and shall be printed at the expense of the municipality. Each municipality shall provide for all polling places:

(1) At least forty-eight hours before the primary, such clerk shall have sample ballots for general distribution, which shall contain the offices or positions and names of candidates to be voted upon. Each such sample ballot shall also include printed instructions approved by the Secretary of the State concerning the use of the voting tabulator and information concerning the date of the primary and the hours during which polling places will be open. Such clerk shall have available for distribution such number of sample ballots as such clerk deems advisable, but in no event less than three which shall be posted inside the polling place so as to be visible to those within the polling place during the whole day of the primary. At least one of such sample ballots shall be posted so as to be visible to an elector being instructed on the demonstrator device, pursuant to section 9-260. If paper ballots are used in any primary, such sample paper ballots shall be overprinted with the word “Sample”;

(2) Instructions on how to cast a provisional ballot, as prescribed by the Secretary of the State;

(3) Instructions for mail-in registrants and first-time voters who register to vote by mail on or after January 1, 2003, as prescribed by the Secretary of the State;

(4) General information concerning voting rights under federal and Connecticut laws, including information on the right of an individual to cast a provisional ballot and instructions on how to contact the appropriate officials if such rights are alleged to have been violated, as prescribed by the Secretary of the State; and

(5) General information on federal and state laws concerning prohibitions on acts of fraud and misrepresentation, as prescribed by the Secretary of the State.

(k) When unaffiliated electors are authorized under section 9-431 to vote for some but not all offices to be contested at a primary, (1) separate voting tabulators shall be used for the unaffiliated electors in a voting district, (2) the ballot shall indicate that it is a partial ballot for unaffiliated electors, (3) the ballot shall contain only the offices and names of candidates for which such electors may vote, with blank columns left wherever necessary to assure that each candidate’s position is the same as on the full ballot for such primary in the voting district, and (4) three sample ballots showing such partial ballot shall also be posted inside the polling place so as to be visible to such unaffiliated electors.

History: 1961 act added provisions re placing of candidates’ names on ballot label; 1963 acts restated previous provisions and added provision re separate rows for town committee candidates on petition; 1967 acts added “assembly district” to list of words to head vertical columns for delegates to other than state conventions, changed provision for arrangement of names so that where a primary petition proposes the full number of candidates for the positions to be contested, a separate row will be used, precedence as to row given to the first petition filed and provided for the designation “no party endorsement”; P.A. 73-481 provided for names of candidates for town committee contained in one primary petition, without the requirement for the full number of candidates for contested positions, to be placed in a separate row, precedence given to the order of filing of such petitions; P.A. 77-245 changed “town” to “municipal” clerk where appearing; P.A. 79-253 deleted requirement for number of sample ballots to be available for distribution as a per cent of the number of electors and provided for the number to be as the clerk deems advisable, but no less than those which are to be posted within the polling place; P.A. 79-616 qualified the provision for placement of candidate names on horizontal lines below the line for party-endorsed candidates by inserting “in the case of candidates for municipal office, town or committee member”, section changed reference from “section 9-399” to “section 9-400”; P.A. 80-249 changed the provisions relating to delegates to a convention, following “party-endorsed slate” by adding “preceded by the last name of one of the party-endorsed candidates for delegate if such name was certified to the municipal clerk at the time of certification of party-endorsed candidates under section 9-391”; P.A. 80-281 provided that petitions proposing full number of candidates for town committee members shall have precedence over petitions proposing fewer than the full number; P.A. 82-426 amended section to allow town clerks to determine position on ballot by lot when filing order of petitions can not be verified; P.A. 83-257 divided section into Subsecs. (a) to (i), inclusive, and changed placement of words “no party endorsement” as required by Subsec. (a); P.A. 83-475 amended Subsec. (a) to require that candidate’s name appear on ballot in same form as on registry list, except as provided in Sec. 9-42a and amended Subsec. (d) to establish procedure for determining order of names on ballot for candidates for town committee members; P.A. 85-577 inserted new Subsec. (b) regarding position on row for two or more candidates for the same state or district office, relettered remaining sections and in Subsec. (d) changed separate row to single row and required the petition to propose at least two candidates and the full number of candidates for each office; P.A. 87-382 amended Subsec. (a) to provide that name of a candidate for municipal office only, except for municipal offices of state senator and state representative, shall appear on ballot label as name appears on registry list and to add sentence providing that name of candidate for state or district office or for municipal office of state senator or state representative shall appear on ballot label as name appears on certificate or statement of consent and substituted “demonstrator or spare voting” for “dummy” machine in Subsec. (j); P.A. 87-472 designated existing Subsec. (b) as Subdiv. (1), inserted at end of Subdiv. (1) of Subsec. (b) “except as provided under subdivision (2) of this subsection” and added Subdiv. (2) to Subsec. (b), providing that when single certificate filed on behalf of two or more candidates and proposing one candidate for each state office to be contested at primary, single row to be used for such candidates, precedence as to row between certificates to be determined by lot, and to require names of all other candidates for state office to be placed in rows below and in Subsec. (h), repealed requirement that slates be labeled by last name of a candidate on slate and required challenge slates to be designated by letters and each slate to include names of candidates supported by slate; P.A. 87-509 added Subsec. (k) re voting machine and ballot label requirements when unaffiliated electors authorized to vote for some but not all offices to be contested at primary; P.A. 90-1 amended requirements in Subsec. (h) for ballot to include names of candidates supported by a slate; P.A. 03-241 amended Subsec. (a) by substituting “justices of the peace” for “delegates to conventions” and deleting reference to “subsection (b)” of section 9-391, amended Subsec. (b) by inserting references to petitions and amended Subsec. (h) by substituting provisions re justices of the peace for provisions re delegates to conventions and eliminating provisions re slates, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (j) by adding requirement that “Each municipality shall provide for all polling places:”, designating sample ballot label provisions as Subdiv. (1) and making a technical change therein, adding provisions to Subdiv. (1) re printed instructions to be included in sample ballot labels, and adding Subdivs. (2) to (5), inclusive, re voting instructions and information, effective January 1, 2004; P.A. 04-113 amended provision re row precedence based on order of filing in Subsec. (e) by adding “, if such petitions are filed during the regular business hours of the office of the registrars of voters or during any different hours for said office required under the general statutes”, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 11-20 replaced references to ballot labels with references to ballots and made technical changes throughout, amended Subsec. (g) by deleting language re voting machine pointer, amended Subsec. (j) by replacing references to voting machine with references to tabulator or device and by deleting language re sample ballot arrangement in the form of a diagram, and amended Subsec. (k) by replacing “voting machines” with “voting tabulators”, effective May 24, 2011.

Sec. 9-438. Hours and places of voting. In each municipality or voting district, the polling places for primaries held under sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, shall be the same as those used for the election to be held. When unaffiliated electors are authorized under section 9-431 to vote in the primary of either of two parties, both parties shall hold their primaries in the same room of each such polling place. On the day of the primary, the polls shall remain open for voting from six o’clock a.m. until eight o’clock p.m.

History: 1963 acts restated previous provisions and changed opening of polls from 2 p.m. to noon; P.A. 83-370 prohibited the hours of voting in any municipality or part of a municipality in a district that includes two or more municipalities or parts of municipalities from commencing prior to twelve o’clock noon, unless all municipalities or parts of municipalities within the district establish the same hours of voting; P.A. 83-475 amended section to require uniform voting hours for primaries; P.A. 87-509 required, when unaffiliated electors authorized to vote in primary of either of two parties, both parties to hold primaries in same room of each polling place; P.A. 88-162 required polls to open for voting in all primaries at six o’clock a.m., instead of at twelve o’clock noon, effective July 1, 1989.

Sec. 9-439. Duties of officials. The moderator in each polling place shall have charge of the primary held therein. The other officials shall have, as nearly as may be, the same duties as at a regular election. The checkers at each polling place shall check the name of each elector on the list or lists of eligible electors of the municipality or the voting district, as the case may be, when the elector offers himself to vote. All officials serving at any primary shall be sworn to the faithful performance of their duties.

Sec. 9-439a. Remedy for denial of right to vote. Any elector qualified to vote at any primary and offering so to vote who is denied the right to vote because his name has been checked off on the check list in use at his polling place, but who claims that he has not in fact voted or offered himself to vote, shall be permitted to vote upon signing and furnishing to the moderator a statement, under penalties of false statement, that he has neither offered himself to vote nor voted at said primary. Such statement shall be in form substantially as follows:

To the Moderator of .... (Polling Place) of .... (Party)

I, .... (Name), of .... (Street Address), of the (City) (Town) (Borough) of ...., do hereby state, under penalties of false statement, that (1) I am an elector in said municipality, (2) I am qualified to vote in the primary of said Party being held in said municipality on this date and (3) I have not prior to this time offered myself to vote or voted at said primary.

.... (a.m.) (p.m.) (Exact Time of Day)

Dated at ...., Connecticut, this .... day of ...., 20....

.... (Signature)

.... (Address)

Received at .... (a.m.) (p.m.) on this .... day of ...., 20...., by .... (Signature), Moderator of .... (Polling Place)

History: 1971 act changed “perjury” to “false statement”; P.A. 87-509 amended statement form to add space for party name and to delete, under (1) “and an enrolled member of the .... Party”; (Revisor’s note: In 2001 the references in this section to the date “19..” were changed editorially by the Revisors to “20..” to reflect the new millennium).

Sec. 9-439b. Penalty for false statement. Any person wilfully making a false statement in a statement which he signs and furnishes to a moderator of a primary under section 9-439a shall be guilty of false statement, as provided in section 9-8, and shall be subject to the penalties provided for false statement.

Sec. 9-440. Moderators to make returns. Upon the closing of the polls at any primary held under sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, the moderator, in the presence of the other officials, shall immediately lock the voting tabulators against voting and shall then proceed to ascertain, record and announce the result in the manner provided by law for ascertaining, recording and announcing the result in regular elections. The election officials shall execute certificates and returns similar to those required in regular elections. The moderator in each town not divided into voting districts, and the head moderator in each town divided into voting districts, shall transmit the results of the vote for each office contested at any such primary in the same manner and within the same time as provided under section 9-314 in an election for such office. The late filing fee provided under section 9-314 shall apply to late filing of results of primaries for state or district office. In the case of primaries for state or district offices, the Secretary of the State shall forthwith cause to be tabulated the result of the votes cast in the several municipalities in which such primaries have been held and shall publicly declare the result thereof, and a certificate attesting thereto shall be entered in the Secretary’s records.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; 1967 act added clarifying language pertaining to split voting districts, added “or assembly” to “senatorial” before the word “district”; 1971 acts changed time limit for mailing or delivering list to “not later than twenty-four hours after the closing of the polls” and deleted reference to the moderator of the first district as alternative to the head moderator with reference to causing the vote to be tabulated; P.A. 73-657 added further clarifying language pertaining to split voting districts and assembly districts; P.A. 84-319 amended section to provide uniformity in procedures for filing head moderator’s returns after primaries and elections; P.A. 85-577 imposed time limit for transmittal of vote results and late filing fee; P.A. 03-241 removed primaries for “district delegates” from application of provision re tabulation of voting results, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 11-173 replaced “machines” with “tabulators” and made a technical change, effective July 13, 2011.

Sec. 9-441. Compensation of registrars and municipal clerks. For the performance of the duties imposed by this chapter, each registrar and deputy registrar actually engaged therein and each municipal clerk shall receive such reasonable compensation from the municipality as is approved by the selectmen of the town, the warden and burgesses of the borough or the common council of the city or the consolidated town and city, as the case may be; and all necessary expenses incurred by registrars and municipal clerks under the provisions of said sections shall be paid by the municipality.

Sec. 9-442. When party has no registrar. In any municipality where there is no registrar affiliated with a political party holding a primary under the provisions of sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive, all the powers and duties conferred by said sections upon registrars shall be exercised by both registrars of voters acting jointly. In any borough where there is no registrar affiliated with a political party holding a primary under the provisions of said sections, all the powers and duties conferred upon registrars shall be exercised by the borough clerk.

Sec. 9-443. Votes for justices of the peace. The vote for the party-endorsed slate or for any contesting slate of justices of the peace shall operate as a vote for all of the candidates on such slate and shall be counted as such, and there shall be no split-ticket voting for justices of the peace.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; P.A. 03-241 substituted “justices of the peace” for “delegates to conventions”, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Sec. 9-444. Determination of nominee, town committee members or justices of the peace. In the case of a primary for state or district office, each person certified by the Secretary of the State as provided in section 9-440, to have received the greatest number of votes of the electors eligible to vote in a primary for any office shall be deemed to have been chosen as the nominee of such party to such office. In the case of a primary for a municipal office, the moderator, or the head moderator, as the case may be, shall declare nominated the person having the greatest number of votes for such office and, if more than one person is to be nominated for the same office, he shall declare nominated the persons having the greatest number of votes for such office up to the number to be chosen. In the case of a primary for members of a town committee, such moderator shall declare elected the persons having the greatest number of votes for such positions up to the number to be chosen for such positions. In the case of a primary for justice of the peace, such moderator shall declare elected each person on the slate having the greatest number of votes for such offices. In all primaries, a plurality of the votes cast shall be sufficient to nominate or elect, as the case may be.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; 1971 act deleted reference to “moderator of the first district”; P.A. 87-509 substituted “electors eligible to vote in” for “members of the political party holding”; P.A. 03-241 deleted provisions re determination of district delegates and substituted “justice of the peace” for “delegates to a convention other than district delegates”, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Sec. 9-445. Recanvass on close vote. Forthwith after a primary for nomination to a municipal office or for election of members of a town committee, or forthwith upon tabulation of the vote for a state or district office by the Secretary of the State when the plurality of an elected or nominated candidate over the vote for a defeated candidate receiving the next highest number of votes was either (1) less than a vote equivalent to one-half of one per cent of the total number of votes cast at the primary for the office or position but not more than one thousand votes, or (2) less than twenty votes, there shall be a recanvass of the returns of the voting tabulator or voting tabulators used in such primary for such office or position unless within one day after the primary, in the case of nomination to a municipal office or for election of members of a town committee, or prior to the time the Secretary of the State notifies the town clerk of state and district offices which qualify for an automatic recanvass, the defeated candidate or defeated candidates, as the case may be, for such office or position file a written statement waiving the right to such recanvass with the municipal clerk in the case of a municipal office or town committee, or with the Secretary of the State in the case of a state or district office. In the case of a state or district office, the Secretary of the State, upon tabulation of the votes for such an office, shall notify the town clerks in the state or district, as the case may be, of the state and district offices which qualify for an automatic recanvass and shall also notify each candidate for any such office. When a recanvass is to be held, the municipal clerk shall promptly notify the moderator, as defined in section 9-311, who shall proceed forthwith to recanvass such returns of the office in question in the same manner as is provided for a recanvass in regular elections, except that the recanvass officials shall be divided equally, as nearly as may be, among the candidates for such office. In addition to the notice required under section 9-311, the moderator shall, before such recanvass is made, give notice in writing of the time and place of such recanvass to each candidate for a municipal office which qualifies for an automatic recanvass under this section. For purposes of this section, “the total number of votes cast at the primary for the office or position” means, in the case of multiple openings for the same office or position, the total number of electors checked as having voted in the primary in the state, district, municipality or political subdivision, as the case may be. When a recanvass of the returns for an office for which there are multiple openings is required by the provisions of this section, the returns for all candidates for all openings for the office shall be recanvassed. Nothing in this section shall preclude the right to judicial proceedings on behalf of such defeated candidate under any provision of this chapter.

History: 1969 act substituted “an elected or nominated candidate” for “candidate receiving highest number of votes” and added application of section to elections of members of a town committee or delegates to a convention; 1971 act deleted time limit of “within five days” and substituted therefor “forthwith”, provided for automatic recanvass where votes are within the limits prescribed unless waived in writing by defeated candidates and deleted provision for successful candidate to apply for recanvass in any other municipality within which the primary was held when defeated candidate or chairman applied for a recanvass; P.A. 80-281 provided for determining application of section where multiple openings for the same office or position are involved and that where such a recanvass is applicable the returns for all candidates for all openings of the office are recanvassed; P.A. 84-319 amended section to provide uniformity in recanvass procedures for primaries and elections; P.A. 03-241 removed convention delegates from application of section, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 10-32 made technical changes, effective May 10, 2010; P.A. 11-20 replaced “machine or voting machines” with “tabulator or voting tabulators” and made a technical change, effective May 24, 2011.

Sec. 9-446. Tie vote. (a) If two or more candidates obtain the same number of votes at a primary held to nominate candidates for a state or district office, and a tie vote thereby occurs, any of such candidates, or the state chairman of the political party, may apply for a recanvass of the returns in the manner provided in section 9-445. If no such application is made, or if any such recanvass results in a tie vote, such primary shall stand adjourned for three weeks at the same hour at which the first primary was held. Ballots of the same form and description as described in section 9-437 shall be used in the primary on such adjourned day, and the primary shall be conducted in the same manner as on the first day, except that the votes shall be cast for such office only. Ballots for such primary shall be provided forthwith by the registrars of voters of each municipality wherein such primary stands adjourned, and each clerk of the municipality shall furnish the Secretary of the State with an accurate list of all candidates to be voted for at such adjourned primary. The clerk of each municipality in the state or the district, whichever is applicable, wherein such primary so stands adjourned shall, at least three days prior to the day of such adjourned primary, give notice of the day, hours, place and purpose thereof by publishing such notice in a newspaper published in such municipality or having a circulation therein. No such primary shall be held if prior to such primary all but one of the candidates for such office die, withdraw their names or for any reason become disqualified to hold such office, and, in such event, the remaining candidate shall be deemed to be lawfully voted upon as the candidate for such office. No withdrawal shall be valid until the candidate who has withdrawn has filed a letter of withdrawal signed by such candidate with the Secretary of the State. When such a primary is required to be held under the provisions of this section and prior to such primary all but one of the candidates for such office die, withdraw their names or for any reason become disqualified to hold such office, the Secretary of the State shall forthwith notify the registrars of voters of such fact, and shall forthwith direct the registrars that such primary shall not be held. In the case of a multiple-opening office only the names of those candidates whose votes are equal shall be placed on the ballot of the adjourned primary. If such second primary results in a tie vote, the Secretary of the State, in the presence of not fewer than three disinterested persons, and after notification to the candidates obtaining the same number of votes and the chairperson of the state central committee of the party holding the primary of the time when and the place where such tie vote is to be dissolved, shall dissolve such tie vote by lot. The Secretary of the State shall execute a certificate attesting to the result of the dissolution of such tie vote, and the person so certified or the slate so certified as having been chosen by lot shall be deemed to have received a plurality of the votes cast and shall be deemed to have been chosen as the nominee of such party to such office.

(b) If two or more candidates obtain the same number of votes at a primary held to nominate candidates for a municipal office or to elect members of a town committee, or if two or more slates of candidates obtain the same number of votes at a primary held for justices of the peace, and a tie vote thereby occurs, any of such candidates, or the town chairman of the political party, may apply for a recanvass of the returns in the manner provided in section 9-445. If no such application is made, or if any such recanvass results in a tie vote, such primary shall stand adjourned for three weeks at the same hour at which the first primary was held. Ballots of the same form and description as described in section 9-437 shall be used in the primary on such adjourned day, and the primary shall be conducted in the same manner as on the first day, except that the votes shall be cast for such office only. Ballots for such primary shall be provided forthwith by the registrars of voters of the municipality wherein such primary stands adjourned, and the clerk of the municipality shall furnish the Secretary of the State with an accurate list of all candidates to be voted for at such adjourned primary. The clerk of the municipality wherein such primary so stands adjourned shall, at least three days prior to the day of such adjourned primary, give notice of the day, hours, place and purpose thereof by publishing such notice in a newspaper published in such municipality or having a circulation therein. No such primary shall be held if prior to such primary all but one of the candidates for such office die, withdraw their names or for any reason become disqualified to hold such office, and, in such event, the remaining candidate shall be deemed to be lawfully voted upon as the candidate for such office. No withdrawal shall be valid until the candidate who has withdrawn has filed a letter of withdrawal signed by such candidate with the municipal clerk. When such a primary is required to be held under the provisions of this section and prior to such primary all but one of the candidates for such office die, withdraw their names or for any reason become disqualified to hold such office, the Secretary of the State shall forthwith notify the municipal clerk of such fact, and shall forthwith direct the clerk that such primary shall not be held. In the case of a multiple-opening office only the names of those candidates whose votes are equal shall be placed on the ballot of the adjourned primary. If such second primary results in a tie vote, the registrar, in the presence of not fewer than three disinterested persons, and after notification to the candidates obtaining the same number of votes and the chairperson of the town committee of the party holding the primary of the time when and the place where such tie vote is to be dissolved, shall dissolve such tie vote by lot. The registrar shall execute a certificate attesting to the result of the dissolution of such tie vote, and the person so certified or the slate so certified as having been chosen by lot shall be deemed to have received a plurality of the votes cast and shall be deemed to have been chosen as the nominee of such party to such office.

History: 1963 acts restated previous provisions and added provisions re recanvass; P.A. 03-241 removed slates of delegate candidates from application of section and applied tie vote provisions to slates of candidates for “justices of the peace”, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 07-194 divided existing provisions into Subsecs. (a) and (b), deleted former provisions re dissolving of tie vote by lot and added provisions re adjourned primary and re holding of new primary in the event of a tie vote; P.A. 11-173 provided that registrars, rather than clerks, provide ballots and notice from Secretary of the State re withdrawal or disqualification of a candidate, replaced references to ballot labels with references to ballots and made technical changes, effective July 13, 2011.

Sec. 9-447. Unlocking of voting tabulators. The voting tabulators used in any primary shall not be unlocked for a period of fourteen days from the date of the primary, unless otherwise ordered by any judge of the Superior Court or by the State Elections Enforcement Commission. If a contest or investigation is pending, such tabulators shall not be unlocked for such longer period of time as may be ordered by any judge of the Superior Court, unless a recanvass has been applied for under the provisions of section 9-445 or unless an order has been issued by the State Elections Enforcement Commission.

Sec. 9-448. Recount of paper ballots. The provisions of sections 9-445, 9-446 and 9-447 shall apply to any primary at which paper ballots are used, and such paper ballots shall be recounted in any situation in which a recanvass would be held thereunder.

Sec. 9-450. Vacancy elections. Nominations by major parties for any state, district or municipal office to be filled under the provisions of any law relating to elections to fill vacancies, unless otherwise provided therein, shall be made in accordance with the provisions of sections 9-382 to 9-450, inclusive.

(1) (A) In the case of nominations for representatives in Congress and judges of probate in probate districts composed of two or more towns, provided for in sections 9-212 and 9-218, the delegates to the convention for the last state election shall be the delegates for the purpose of selecting a candidate to fill such vacancy. If a vacancy occurs in the delegation from any town, political subdivision or district, such vacancy may be filled by the town committee of the town in which the delegate resided. Endorsements by political party conventions pursuant to this subsection may be made and certified at any time after the resignation or death creating such vacancy and not later than the fiftieth day before the day of the election. No such endorsement shall be effective until the presiding officer and secretary of any district convention have certified the endorsement to the Secretary of the State.

(B) If such a vacancy occurs between the one hundred twenty-fifth day and the sixty-third day before the day of a regular state or municipal election in November of any year, no primary shall be held for the nomination of any political party and the party-endorsed candidate so selected shall be deemed, for the purposes of this chapter, the person certified by the Secretary of the State pursuant to section 9-444 as the nominee of such party.

(C) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, if a candidacy for nomination is filed by or on behalf of any person other than a party-endorsed candidate not later than fourteen days after the party endorsement and in conformity with the provisions of section 9-400, a primary shall be held in each municipality of the district and each part of a municipality which is a component part of the district, to determine the nominee of such party for such office, except as provided in section 9-416a. Such primary shall be held on the day that the writs of election issued by the Governor, pursuant to section 9-212, ordered the election to be held, and new writs of election shall be issued by the Governor in accordance with section 9-212.

(D) Unless the provisions of subparagraph (B) of this subdivision apply, petition forms for candidacies for nomination by a political party pursuant to this subdivision shall be available from the Secretary of the State beginning on the day following the issuance of writs of election by the Governor pursuant to section 9-212, except when a primary has already been held, and the provisions of section 9-404a shall otherwise apply to such petitions.

(E) The registry lists used pursuant to this subsection shall be the last-completed lists, as provided in sections 9-172a and 9-172b.

(2) In the case of judges of probate in probate districts composed of a single town, the day named for the election shall be not earlier than the one hundred fifteenth day following the day on which the writ of election is issued, and the times specified in sections 9-391, 9-405 and 9-423 shall be applicable.

(3) (A) In the case of nominations for senators in Congress provided for in section 9-211, the delegates to the convention for the last state election shall be the delegates for the purpose of selecting a candidate to fill such vacancy. If a vacancy occurs in the delegation from any town or political subdivision, such vacancy may be filled by the town committee of the town in which the delegate resided. Endorsements by political party conventions pursuant to this subsection may be made and certified at any time after the resignation or death creating such vacancy and not later than the fifty-sixth day before the day of the primary. No such endorsement shall be effective until the presiding officer and secretary of any state convention have certified the endorsement to the Secretary of the State.

(B) If such a vacancy occurs between the one hundred twenty-fifth day and the sixty-third day before the day of a regular state or municipal election in November of any year, no primary shall be held for the nomination of any political party and the party-endorsed candidate so selected shall be deemed, for the purposes of this chapter, the person certified by the Secretary of the State, pursuant to section 9-444, as the nominee of such party. In such an event, endorsements by political party conventions shall be made not later than sixty days prior to the election.

(C) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, if a candidacy for nomination is filed by or on behalf of any person other than a party-endorsed candidate not later than fourteen days after the party endorsement and in conformity with the provisions of section 9-400, a primary shall be held on the fifty-sixth day prior to the day of the election in each municipality to determine the nominee of such party for such office, except as provided in section 9-416a.

(D) Unless the provisions of subparagraph (B) of this subdivision apply, petition forms for candidacies for nomination by a political party pursuant to this subdivision shall be available from the Secretary of the State beginning on the day following the issuance of writs of election by the Governor, pursuant to section 9-211, except when a primary has already been held and the provisions of section 9-404a shall otherwise apply to such petitions.

(E) The registry lists used pursuant to this subsection shall be the last-completed lists, as provided in sections 9-172a and 9-172b.

(4) The times specified in sections 9-391, 9-405 and 9-423 shall be applicable to any special town election held to fill a vacancy in any town office under subsection (b) of section 9-164. Except as provided under subsection (c) of section 9-164, any election held to fill a vacancy in any municipal office under the provisions of any special act shall be held not earlier than the one hundred twenty-seventh day following the day upon which warning of such election is issued, and the times specified in sections 9-391, 9-405 and 9-423 shall be applicable.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; P.A. 75-206 changed in Subsec. (a) the determining day before or after which election writs are issued from the tenth day of April to the twenty-first day of May and changed date of action by state central committee when such writs issued on or before that date to no later than the twenty-fourth day of May, in Subsec. (b) changed day of election to no earlier than the one-hundred-fifth day following issuance of writ instead of the ninetieth, in Subsec. (c) changed application of subsection to vacancy occurring 70 or more days prior to state election rather than 60 days, further provided for the twenty-eighth day rather than the twenty-first day following the reconvened convention to be the determining day and changed the ninetieth to the one-hundred-fifth day as the limitation in Subsec. (d); P.A. 79-616 changed reference from Sec. 9-399 to Sec. 9-400; P.A. 87-382, in Subsec. (a) added reference to Sec. 9-423 and sentence re deadlines for delegate primaries and changed deadline for filing of contesting candidacies for nomination from fourteenth to fifth day following close of convention, in Subsec. (b) changed earliest day for election from one-hundred-fifth to one-hundred-fifteenth-day following day on which writ of election is issued, in Subsec. (c) changed deadline for filing of contesting candidacies for nomination from fourteenth to fifth day following close of convention, and in Subsec. (d) changed earliest day for election from one-hundred-fifth to one-hundred-twenty-seventh day following day on which warning of election is issued; P.A. 93-202 amended Subsec. (d) by inserting specific reference to “subsection (b) of” Sec. 9-164 and by adding exception re Subsec. (c) of Sec. 9-164; P.A. 00-66 replaced alphabetic Subdiv. indicators with numeric indicators; P.A. 03-241 changed provisions re election of delegates to selection of delegates in Subdivs. (1) and (3), effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date; P.A. 05-188 amended Subdiv. (1) to substantially revise procedure for vacancy elections for office of representative in Congress and judge of probate, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 05-235 restored provisions of Subdiv. (1) that were deleted by P.A. 05-188, effective July 8, 2005; P.A. 06-137 amended Subdiv. (1) to replace former provisions with Subpara. (A) re vacancies for representatives in Congress and judges of probate, Subpara. (B) re vacancies between the one hundred twenty-fifth day and the sixty-third day before the day of a regular state or municipal election, Subpara. (C) re filing of a candidacy for nomination by or on behalf of any person other than a party-endorsed candidate, Subpara. (D) re availability of petition forms and Subpara. (E) re registry lists used pursuant to section, and amended Subdiv. (3) to change reference re occurrence of vacancy from 70 or more days to 150 or more days, change deadline for filing of contesting candidacies from not later than four o’clock p.m. on the fourteenth day following close of the convention to not later than four o’clock p.m. on the twenty-first day following close of the convention, change deadline for filing of contesting candidacies after a reconvened state convention from not later than four o’clock p.m. on the fifth day following close of the reconvened convention to not later than four o’clock p.m. on the twenty-first day following close of the reconvened convention, and change references re day of primaries from the twenty-eighth day following close of the reconvened convention to the forty-ninth day following close of the reconvened convention, effective June 6, 2006; P.A. 09-170 replaced former Subdiv. (3) re vacancy in office of senator in Congress with new Subdiv. (3)(A) re nominations for senator in Congress provided for in Sec. 9-211, new Subdiv. (3)(B) re vacancies occurring between one hundred twenty-fifth day and sixty-third day before day of regular state or municipal election in November of any year, new Subdiv. (3)(C) re filing of candidacy for nomination by or on behalf of any person other than party-endorsed candidate not later than fourteen days after party endorsement and in conformity with Sec. 9-400, new Subdiv. (3)(D) re the availability of petition forms for candidacies for nomination by political party and new Subdiv. (3)(E) re registry lists to be used, effective June 25, 2009.

B

MINOR PARTIES

Sec. 9-451. Minor parties. The nomination by a minor party of any candidate for office, including an office established after the last-preceding election, and the selection in a municipality by a minor party of town committee members or delegates to conventions may be made in the manner prescribed in the rules of such party, or alterations or amendments thereto, filed with the Secretary of the State in accordance with section 9-374.

Sec. 9-452. Time for making nominations; certification. All minor parties nominating candidates for any elective office shall make such nominations and certify and file a list of such nominations, as required by this section, not later than the sixty-second day prior to the day of the election at which such candidates are to be voted for. A list of nominees in printed or typewritten form that includes each candidate’s name as authorized by each candidate to appear on the ballot, the signature of each candidate, the full street address of each candidate and the title and district of the office for which each candidate is nominated shall be certified by the presiding officer of the committee, meeting or other authority making such nomination and shall be filed by such presiding officer with the Secretary of the State, in the case of state or district office or the municipal office of state representative, state senator or judge of probate, or with the clerk of the municipality, in the case of municipal office, not later than the sixty-second day prior to the day of the election. The registrars of voters of such municipality shall promptly verify and correct the names on any such list filed with him, or the names of nominees forwarded to the clerk of the municipality by the Secretary of the State, in accordance with the registry list of such municipality and endorse the same as having been so verified and corrected. For purposes of this section, a list of nominations shall be deemed to be filed when it is received by the Secretary or clerk, as appropriate.

History: 1961 act provided for filing list with municipal clerk not less than 32, rather than 25, days prior to election; 1963 act entirely replaced prior provisions; P.A. 77-188 changed from five to six weeks time prior to election as deadline for nominating candidates for municipal office and changed from 32 to 38 days prior to election day as deadline for delivering a list of nominees to the clerk of the municipality; P.A. 83-475 amended section to require uniform date of certification of filing, not later than the fifty-fifth day prior to election; P.A. 07-194 changed “fifty-fifth” to “sixty-second” day prior to day of election and added “the municipal office of state representative, state senator or judge of probate”, effective July 5, 2007; P.A. 11-173 added requirement that list of nominees include name authorized by candidate, signature and address of candidate and title and district of the office, changed clerk to registrars re persons to verify and correct names, and made technical changes, effective July 13, 2011.

Sec. 9-452a. Notice of party meetings. Not later than five days before a minor party holds a party meeting to nominate a candidate for public office, the presiding officer of such meeting shall give written notice of the date, time, location and purpose of the meeting to, in the case of a municipal office, the town clerk of the municipality served by such office, or in the case of a state office or district office, the Secretary of the State. Concomitantly, the presiding officer of such meeting shall cause the written notice of such meeting to be published in a newspaper with a general circulation in the applicable town for such office. As used in this section, the terms “minor party”, “state office”, “district office” and “municipal office” have the meanings assigned to such terms in section 9-372.

(P.A. 99-276, S. 11, 15; P.A. 07-194, S. 44.)

History: P.A. 99-276 effective January 1, 2000; P.A. 07-194 added requirement to publish notice of meeting in newspaper with a general circulation in the applicable town.

Sec. 9-453a. Petition form. Each petition for nomination for elective office shall be on a form prescribed and provided by the Secretary of the State. Such form shall include, at the top of the form and in bold print, the following:

WARNING

IT IS A CRIME TO SIGN THIS PETITION

IN THE NAME OF ANOTHER PERSON

WITHOUT LEGAL AUTHORITY TO DO SO

AND YOU MAY NOT SIGN THIS PETITION

IF YOU ARE NOT AN ELECTOR.

Such form shall provide lines for the signatures, street addresses, dates of birth and the printing of the names of signators. A signator shall print his name on said line following the signing of the signator’s name. Before issuing a petition form, the secretary shall, above the space provided for signatures, type or print the name and address of the candidate, the office sought and the election and the date thereof. The secretary shall give to any person requesting such form one or more petition pages, suitable for duplication, as the secretary deems necessary. If the person is requesting the form on behalf of an indigent candidate or a group of indigent candidates listed on the same nominating petition, the secretary shall give the person the number of original pages that he requests or the number which the secretary deems sufficient. An original petition page may be duplicated by or on behalf of the candidate or candidates listed on the page and signatures may be obtained on such duplicates. The duplicates shall be filed in the same manner and shall be subject to the same requirements as original petition pages.

History: P.A. 77-168 added provision for inclusion on petition of a line for printing of the name of a signator following the signature; P.A. 83-391 deleted limitation on number of petition pages given to person requesting; P.A. 93-384 required secretary to type or print candidate and election information on form before issuance, limited number of pages that secretary required to give to person requesting to “one or more petition pages, suitable for duplication, as the secretary deems necessary” unless candidate or candidates are indigent, and allowed original pages to be duplicated; P.A. 99-276 required petition forms to provide lines for the signatures, street addresses and dates of birth of signators, effective January 1, 2000; P.A. 03-241 required form to include warning, effective July 1, 2003.

See Sec. 9-6b re assistance to blind persons in the signing of petitions.

Sec. 9-453b. Issuance of nominating petition forms; restrictions. Application requirements. The Secretary of the State shall not issue any nominating petition forms for a candidate for an office to be filled at a regular election to be held in any year prior to the first business day of such year. The Secretary shall not issue any nominating petition forms unless the person requesting the nominating petition forms makes a written application for such forms, which application shall contain the following: (1) The name or names of the candidates to appear on such nominating petition, compared by the town clerk of the town of residence of each candidate with the candidate’s name as it appears on the last-completed registry list of such town, and verified and corrected by such town clerk or in the case of a newly admitted elector whose name does not appear on the last-completed registry list, the town clerk shall compare the candidate’s name as it appears on the candidate’s application for admission and verify and correct it accordingly; (2) a signed statement by each such candidate that the candidate consents to the placing of the candidate’s name on such petition; and (3) the party designation, if any. An applicant for petition forms who does not wish to specify a party designation shall so indicate on the application for such forms and the application, if so marked, shall not be amended in this respect. No application made after November 3, 1981, shall contain any party designation unless a reservation of such party designation with the Secretary is in effect for all of the offices included in the application or unless the party designation is the same as the name of a minor party which is qualified for a different office or offices on the same ballot as the office or offices included in the application. The Secretary shall not issue such forms (A) unless the application for forms on behalf of a candidate for the office of presidential elector is accompanied by the names of the candidates for President and Vice-President whom the candidate for the office of presidential elector represents and includes the consent of such candidates for President and Vice-President; (B) unless the application for forms on behalf of Governor or Lieutenant Governor is accompanied by the name of the candidate for the other office and includes the consent of both such candidates; (C) if petition forms have previously been issued on behalf of the same candidate for the same office unless the candidate files a written statement of withdrawal of the candidate’s previous candidacy with the Secretary; and (D) unless the application meets the requirements of this section.

History: P.A. 81-447 amended to delete limitation on form and length of party designation and to include reference to requirement of reservation of party designation; P.A. 84-319 established commencing date for issuance of nominating petition forms; P.A. 10-32 made technical changes, effective May 10, 2010; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-2 made technical changes.

Sec. 9-453c. When single petition may be used. The names of any or all candidates under the same party designation for state offices, as defined by section 9-372, and for the office of presidential elector may be included in one nominating petition, but the name of no candidate for any other office shall be included therein, provided the names of any or all candidates under the same party designation for at-large municipal offices to be filled at a municipal election may be included in one nominating petition.

Sec. 9-453d. Number of signatures. Each petition shall be signed by a number of qualified electors equal to the lesser of (1) one per cent of the votes cast for the same office or offices at the last-preceding election, or the number of qualified electors prescribed by section 9-380 with regard to newly-created offices, or (2) seven thousand five hundred. “Qualified electors” means electors eligible to vote for all the candidates proposed by the petition. “Votes cast for the same office at the last-preceding election” means, in the case of multiple openings for the same office, the total number of electors checked as having voted at the last-preceding election at which such office appeared on the ballot.

History: P.A. 74-2 provided that in the case of multiple openings for the same office, “votes cast for the same office at the last preceding election” means the total number of electors voting at the last preceding election; P.A. 85-577 substituted the number of “qualified electors” for the number of “signatures”, defined “qualified electors” and substituted number of electors “checked as having voted” for number of electors “voting”; P.A. 94-209 added “the lesser of”, Subdiv. designations and Subdiv. (2); pursuant to P.A. 11-20, “ballot label” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “ballot”, effective May 24, 2011.

Sec. 9-453e. Circulator. Each circulator of a nominating petition page shall be a United States citizen, at least eighteen years of age and a resident of a town in this state and shall not be on parole for conviction of a felony. Any individual proposed as a candidate in any nominating petition may serve as circulator of the pages of such nominating petition.

(1971, P.A. 806, S. 6; P.A. 03-241, S. 54; P.A. 04-58, S. 7.)

History: P.A. 03-241 substituted “shall be a United States citizen, at least eighteen years of age, a resident of a town in this state and shall not be on parole for conviction of a felony” for “shall be an elector of a town in this state and eligible to vote for all candidates listed on such petition”, effective July 9, 2003, and applicable to petitions circulated on or after that date; P.A. 04-58 made a technical change.

Sec. 9-453f. Signature pages. Before any signatures may be obtained on a petition signatures page, above the space provided for signatures shall be indicated the party designation, if any, the name and address of the candidate, the office sought, the election and the date thereof, and the town and district, if such is the case, in which such petition page is to be circulated. Such indication may not be altered or amended after any person has signed the page. Each page of a nominating petition shall contain the names and street addresses of the signers. No page of a nominating petition shall be certified by the clerks of two or more towns and signatures on any page so certified shall not be counted by the Secretary of the State.

(1971, P.A. 806, S. 7; P.A. 81-447, S. 12, 23.)

History: P.A. 81-447 eliminated prohibition against names of electors of different municipalities appearing on same petition page, effective January 1, 1982.

Sec. 9-453g. False signing. Any person who signs a name other than his own to a nominating petition filed under sections 9-453a to 9-453s, inclusive, or section 9-216 shall be fined not more than one hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than one year or both.

Sec. 9-453h. Withdrawal of signatures. Any signer of a nominating petition may withdraw his signature therefrom at any time up to the deadline date for filing nominating petition pages pursuant to section 9-453i, prior to the election, by sending a written notice of such withdrawal to the candidate or candidates named in such petition and by sending a copy of such notice to the Secretary of the State by such day. Such written notice and the copy thereof shall be sent by registered or certified mail.

(1971, P.A. 806, S. 9; P.A. 85-577, S. 15.)

History: P.A. 85-577 changed deadline date for withdrawing signature from petition from 10 weeks before election to same date as for filing petition pages pursuant to Sec. 9-453i.

Sec. 9-453i. Submission to town clerk or Secretary of the State. (a) Each page of a nominating petition proposing a candidate for an office to be filled at a regular election shall be submitted to the appropriate town clerk or to the Secretary of the State not later than four o’clock p.m. on the ninetieth day preceding the day of the regular election.

(b) Each page of a nominating petition proposing a candidate for an office to be filled at a special election, except petitions filed under section 9-216, shall be submitted to the appropriate town clerk or to the Secretary of the State not later than four o’clock p.m. on the seventieth day prior to such election, unless (1) such special election is held in conjunction with a regular election and (2) the writ of such special election is issued at least fourteen days before the final day for the filing of primary petitions for municipal offices to be filled at such regular election pursuant to section 9-405, in which case the deadline for submitting such nominating petition pages shall be the same as the deadline for such submission in connection with such regular election as provided in subsection (a) of this section.

(c) Each page of a nominating petition proposing a candidate at an election shall be so submitted either (1) to the town clerk of the town in which the signers reside, or (2) to the Secretary of the State, in which case the Secretary of the State shall submit the petition pages to the appropriate town clerk for the purpose of certifying the signatures on such pages.

(d) On such last day for submitting such nominating petition pages, in each town in which an election is to be held, the office of the town clerk shall open not later than one o’clock p.m. and remain open until at least four o’clock p.m., and the town clerk or his assistant town clerk shall be present therein.

History: P.A. 77-537 added provision for submission of petition to the secretary of the state at least 10 weeks prior to election as alternative to submission to the town clerk in which case the pages are then submitted to the town clerk for certification of signatures; P.A. 79-339 changed limitation in Subdiv. (1) from “at least nine weeks” to “not later than four o’clock p.m. of the sixty-third day” and in Subdiv. (2) from “at least ten weeks” to “not later than four o’clock p.m. of the seventieth day”; P.A. 85-577 replaced section with four new subsections, Subsec. (a) providing procedures concerning nominating petitions proposing a candidate for an office to be filled at a regular election, Subsec. (b) providing procedures for nominating petitions proposing a candidate for an office to be filled at a special election, Subsec. (c) concerning submission of nominating petitions to either the town clerk or the secretary of the state and Subsec. (d) concerning office hours at the town clerk’s office on the last day for submitting a nominating petition; P.A. 03-241 amended Subsec. (a) by substituting “ninetieth day preceding the day of the regular election” for “final day for the filing of primary petitions for municipal offices to be filled at such election pursuant to section 9-405”, effective January 1, 2004, and applicable to primaries and elections held on or after that date.

Sec. 9-453j. Statement by circulator. Each page of a nominating petition submitted to the town clerk or the Secretary of the State and filed with the Secretary of the State under the provisions of sections 9-453a to 9-453s, inclusive, or section 9-216 shall contain a statement as to the residency in this state and eligibility of the circulator and authenticity of the signatures thereon, signed under penalties of false statement, by the person who circulated the same. Such statement shall set forth (1) such circulator’s residence address, including the town in this state in which such circulator is a resident, (2) the circulator’s date of birth and that the circulator is at least eighteen years of age, (3) that the circulator is a United States citizen and not on parole for conviction of a felony, and (4) that each person whose name appears on such page signed the same in person in the presence of such circulator and that either the circulator knows each such signer or that the signer satisfactorily identified himself to the circulator. Any false statement committed with respect to such statement shall be deemed to have been committed in the town in which the petition was circulated.

(1971, P.A. 806, S. 11; P.A. 77-537, S. 2, 5; P.A. 03-241, S. 55.)

History: P.A. 77-537 added reference to the secretary of the state wherever submission or filing of the petition to or with the town clerk appears; P.A. 03-241 eliminated requirement re statement by town clerk and amended content of circulator’s statement, effective July 9, 2003, and applicable only to petitions circulated on or after that date.

Sec. 9-453k. Signing and certification of circulator’s statement; receipt for pages; certification of signatures. (a) The town clerk or Secretary of the State shall not accept any page of a nominating petition unless the circulator thereof has signed before him or an appropriate person as provided in section 1-29, the statement as to the residency in this state and eligibility of the circulator and authenticity of the signatures thereon required by section 9-453j.

(b) The town clerk or Secretary of the State or an appropriate person as provided in section 1-29 shall certify on each such page that the circulator thereof signed such statement in his presence and that either he knows the circulator or that the circulator satisfactorily identified himself to the individual certifying.

(c) The town clerk or Secretary of the State shall forthwith give to each circulator submitting a page or pages of a nominating petition a receipt indicating the number of such pages so submitted and the date upon which such pages were submitted.

(d) Such town clerk shall certify on each such page the date upon which it was submitted to the town clerk by the circulator or the Secretary of the State and the number of names of electors on such petition page, which names were on the registry list last-completed or are names of persons admitted as electors since the completion of such list. In the checking of signatures on such nominating petition pages, the town clerk shall reject any name if such name is not the name of an elector as specified above. Such rejection shall be indicated by placing a mark in a manner prescribed by the Secretary of the State before the name so rejected. The town clerk shall not reject any name for which the street address on the petition is different from the street address on the registry list, if (1) such person is eligible to vote for the candidate or candidates named in the petition, and (2) the person’s date of birth, as shown on the petition page, is the same as the date of birth on the person’s registration record. Such clerk may place a check mark before each name appearing on such registry list or each name of a person admitted as an elector since the completion of such list, but shall place no other mark on such page except as provided in this section.

History: P.A. 77-537 added in Subsecs. (a), (b) and (c) “or secretary of the state” to “town clerk” where appearing, in Subsec. (d) following “... submitted to him” inserted “by the circulator or the secretary of the state”; P.A. 81-447 amended Subsec. (a) to allow circulator of a petition to sign petition pages before a notary or attorney, and added Subsec. (e) re records stating reasons for rejection of name; P.A. 82-247 amended section to allow certification by attorney or notary public; P.A. 83-475 amended section to allow certification by appropriate person as provided in Sec. 1-29, to allow town clerks to use a code letter for rejection of signatures and to allow for direct court appeal of signature rejections if ballot access is thereby denied; P.A. 99-276 amended Subsec. (d) by adding provision prohibiting town clerk from rejecting any name for which address on petition is different from address on registry list if the person is eligible to vote for the candidate or candidates named in the petition, and the person’s date of birth is the same as on the registration record, effective January 1, 2000; P.A. 03-241 amended Subsec. (a) by inserting “residency in this state and eligibility of the circulator and”, effective July 9, 2003, and applicable only to petitions circulated on or after that date.

Sec. 9-453l. Delegation of signature check to registrars. Any town clerk may delegate his duty to check the names of signers with names of electors on the registry list pursuant to section 9-453k to the registrars of voters in his town, if the registrars consent, and the registrars shall complete the required certifications with respect thereto on the petition, provided the registrars shall execute a receipt for such pages upon receipt thereof stating the number of pages and provided such checking of names by the registrars shall take place in the office of the town clerk or in the office of the registrars of voters if they have an office. After making the required certifications, the registrars shall deliver the petition pages to the town clerk.

Sec. 9-453m. Signatures, effect of variations. The use of titles, initials or customary abbreviations of given names by the signer of a nominating petition shall not invalidate such signature if the identity of the signer can be readily established by reference to the signature on the petition and the name of a person as it appears on the last-completed registry list at the address indicated or of a person who has been admitted as an elector since the completion of such list.

Sec. 9-453n. Date for filing with secretary. Any town clerk receiving any page of a nominating petition under sections 9-453a to 9-453s, inclusive, or section 9-216 shall complete such certifications as specified herein and shall file each such nominating petition page with the Secretary of the State within two weeks after it was so submitted to him. Any such town clerk who fails to so file such petition pages with the Secretary of the State by the time required shall pay a late filing fee of fifty dollars.

History: P.A. 77-537 changed time for filing of petition pages with the secretary of the state from within “three” to “two” weeks following submission and added “and not later than seven weeks before the election”; P.A. 85-577 deleted requirement that nominating petition page be filed “not later than seven weeks before the election”; P.A. 07-194 added provision re payment of $50 late filing fee for town clerk’s failure to timely file petition pages with Secretary of the State, effective July 5, 2007.

Sec. 9-453o. Rejection of defective pages. Cure for omission by town clerk. Approval of petitions. (a) The Secretary of the State may not count for purposes of determining compliance with the number of signatures required by section 9-453d the signatures certified by the town clerk on any petition page filed under sections 9-453a to 9-453s, inclusive, or 9-216 if: (1) The name of the candidate, his address or the party designation, if any, has been omitted from the face of the petition; (2) the page does not contain a statement by the circulator as to the residency in this state and eligibility of the circulator and authenticity of the signatures thereon as required by section 9-453j or upon which such statement of the circulator is incomplete in any respect; or (3) the page does not contain the certifications required by sections 9-453a to 9-453s, inclusive, by the town clerk of the town in which the signers reside. The town clerk shall cure any omission on his part by signing any such page at the office of the Secretary of the State and making the necessary amendment or by filing a separate statement in this regard, which amendment shall be dated.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the Secretary of the State shall approve every nominating petition which contains sufficient signatures counted and certified on approved pages by the town clerks. In the case of a candidate who petitions under a reserved party designation the Secretary shall approve the petition only if it meets the signature requirement and if a statement endorsing such candidate is filed with the Secretary by the party designation committee not later than four o’clock p.m. on the sixty-second day before the election. In the case of a candidate who petitions under a party designation which is the same as the name of a minor party the Secretary shall approve the petition only if it meets the signature requirement and if a statement endorsing such candidate is filed in the office of the Secretary by the chairman or secretary of such minor party not later than four o’clock p.m. on the sixty-second day before the election. No candidate shall be qualified to appear on any ballot by nominating petition unless the candidate’s petition is approved by the Secretary pursuant to this subsection.

(c) The Secretary of the State may approve a nominating petition received under section 9-453k at any time except such approval shall be withdrawn if sufficient signatures are withdrawn under section 9-453h.

History: P.A. 81-447 replaced former Subsec. (b) with new Subsec. requiring filing of a statement endorsing petitioning candidate with secretary of the state prior to approval of petition by secretary, and added Subsec. (c) permitting independent review of petitions by secretary; P.A. 83-475 amended section to establish time limit for filing endorsements on fifty-fifth day before election and to eliminate subsection requiring independent review of petitions by the secretary of the state; P.A. 85-577 amended Subsec. (c) to allow approval of a nominating petition received under Sec. 9-453k at any time rather than prior to tenth week before election but not earlier than final date for a major party endorsement for the office specified in the petition; P.A. 03-241 amended Subsec. (a)(2) by inserting “residency in this state and eligibility of the circulator and”, effective July 9, 2003, and applicable only to petitions circulated on or after that date; P.A. 11-173 amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “fifty-fifth day” with “sixty-second day”, effective July 13, 2011.

Sec. 9-453p. Withdrawal of candidacy. A petitioning candidate may withdraw his candidacy but no such withdrawal shall be valid until the candidate has signed and filed a letter of withdrawal with the Secretary of the State in the case of a state or district office or the office of state senator or state representative from any district, or with the municipal clerk in the case of a municipal office other than state senator or state representative. A copy of each letter of withdrawal filed with the municipal clerk shall also be filed with the Secretary of the State. The Secretary of the State shall forthwith notify the appropriate town clerks of such withdrawal in the case of a state or district office.

(1971, P.A. 806, S. 17; P.A. 84-319, S. 42, 49.)

History: P.A. 84-319 amended section to provide uniformity in statutes re withdrawal of petitioning candidates whether running under a party designation or not.

Sec. 9-453r. Position of candidates’ names on ballot. (a) A separate row on the ballot shall be used for a petitioning candidate whose name is contained in a petition approved pursuant to section 9-453o, bearing a party designation. A separate row shall be used for the petitioning candidates whose names are contained in petitions approved pursuant to section 9-453o, bearing the same party designation. Within such a separate row, the order of the names of such candidates for the same multiple-opening office shall be determined by the registrars of voters by lot in a ceremony which shall be open to the public. The registrars of voters shall provide at least five days public notice for each such ceremony.

(b) On the horizontal rows below the rows so used for candidates, if any, who are so entitled to a party designation on the ballot, shall be placed, in the appropriate office columns, the names of candidates contained in petitions approved pursuant to section 9-453o bearing no party designation. Such candidates shall not be entitled to separate rows. Precedence as to horizontal row between or among such candidates shall be determined, if necessary, by the order in which their applications for petitions were filed with the Secretary of the State from the earliest to the latest; provided that within any such horizontal row the names of as many of such candidates for the same multiple-opening office as such row will accommodate shall be placed before placing the names of other such candidates for such office on the next such row. The order of the names of such candidates for the same multiple-opening office, within and between any such horizontal rows, shall be determined by the registrars of voters by lot in a ceremony which shall be open to the public. The registrars of voters shall provide at least five days public notice for each such ceremony. Each row in which a candidate’s name appears who is not entitled to a party designation shall be labeled “Petitioning Candidates”, the print of which shall correspond to that used for party designations.

History: 1972 act deleted provision that petitioning candidate name shall not appear on ballot under a party designation unless 50% of offices to be filled have petitioning candidates approved and provided for separate row to be used for petitioning candidate whose petition is approved under Sec. 9-453o; P.A. 84-319 amended section to provide uniformity in statutes re order of unaffiliated electors on ballot and order of party candidates and divided provisions into Subsecs.; P.A. 87-382 repealed provisions in Subsec. (b) re party lever; P.A. 87-472 required that, under Subsec. (a), within a separate row of candidates for same multiple-opening office and, under Subsec. (b), within and between horizontal rows for same multiple-opening offices, the order of names of candidates be determined by lot instead of alphabetical order based on surnames; P.A. 88-49 substituted “registrars of voters” for “municipal clerk” and “clerk”; P.A. 11-20 replaced “voting machines” with “ballot” in Subsec. (b), effective May 24, 2011.

See Sec. 9-249b re arrangement of ballot when number of party designations and petitioning candidate rows on ballot exceeds nine.

Sec. 9-453s. Vacancies in candidacies. Ballot. Vacancies in candidacies occurring after all nominating petitions have been approved under section 9-453o, shall not cause the position of any candidate’s name on the ballot to be changed to another position unless a blank row on the ballot results from such vacancy or vacancies in which case the position of candidates appearing on lines under the blank row may change if the consent of all candidates involved in such a change is filed in the Secretary of the State’s office prior to the time for printing and filing sample ballots with said Secretary. The name of any candidate whose candidacy has been vacated shall not appear on the ballot.

Sec. 9-453t. Candidate nominated by major or minor party prohibited from appearing on ballot by nominating petition. Exception. Notwithstanding any other provision of the general statutes or any special act, the nomination of a candidate by a major or minor party under this chapter, for any office shall disqualify such candidate from appearing on the ballot by nominating petition for the same office, unless (1) such petition is circulated by an existing minor party with the same party designation at the time of such nomination, and (2) the minor party is otherwise qualified to nominate candidates on the same ballot. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any candidate from appearing on the ballot as the nominee of two or more major or minor parties for the same office.

(P.A. 81-447, S. 4, 23; P.A. 07-194, S. 16.)

History: P.A. 07-194 added exception if petition is circulated by existing minor party with the same party designation at the time of nomination and minor party is otherwise qualified to nominate candidates on the same ballot.

Sec. 9-453u. (Formerly Sec. 9-378m). Reservation of party designation. (a) An application to reserve a party designation with the Secretary of the State and to form a party designation committee may be made at any time after November 3, 1981, by filing in the office of the secretary a written statement signed by at least twenty-five electors who desire to be members of such committee.

(b) The statement shall include the offices for which candidates may petition for nomination under the party designation to be reserved but shall not include an office if no elector who has signed the application is entitled to vote at an election for such office.

(c) The statement shall include the party designation to be reserved which (1) shall consist of not more than three words and not more than twenty-five letters; (2) shall not incorporate the name of any major party; (3) shall not incorporate the name of any minor party which is entitled to nominate candidates for any office which will appear on the same ballot with any office included in the statement; (4) shall not be the same as any party designation for which a reservation with the secretary is currently in effect for any office included in the statement; and (5) shall not be the word “none”, or incorporate the words “unaffiliated” or “unenrolled” or any similarly antonymous form of the words “affiliated” or “enrolled”.

(d) The statement shall include the names of two persons who are authorized by the party designation committee to execute and file with the secretary statements of endorsement required by section 9-453o and certificates of nomination as required by section 9-460.

(e) The secretary shall examine the statement, and if it complies with the requirements of this section, the secretary shall reserve the party designation for the offices included in the statement and record such reservation in the office of the secretary. The reservation shall continue in effect from the date it is recorded until the day following any regular election at which no candidate appears on the appropriate ballot for that office under that party designation.

History: P.A. 83-475 amended Subsec. (e) to provide for termination of party designation on day following first election at which no candidate appears on the appropriate ballot for a particular office under the party designation; Sec. 9-378m transferred to Sec. 9-453u in 1985; P.A. 87-472, in Subsec. (c) increased maximum number of letters in a reserved party designation, from 20 to 25, and added Subdiv. (5) re prohibition on use of antonymous form of words “affiliated” or “unenrolled”, and added Subsec. (f) re cancellation of reserved party designations prohibited under Subsec. (c)(5) of this section; P.A. 02-89 amended Subsec. (e) to delete an exception re Subsec. (f) and deleted as obsolete Subsec. (f) re the cancellation of party designations reserved prior to June 24, 1987, that are prohibited by Subsec. (c)(5).

PART IV

VACANCIES

Sec. 9-459. Vacancy elections. Nominations for any state, district or municipal office to be filled under the provisions of any law relating to elections to fill vacancies, unless otherwise provided therein, shall be made in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

Sec. 9-460. Vacancy in nomination; withdrawal procedure. Certification of replacement nomination; time limitations. Ballot labels. If any party has nominated a candidate for office, or, on and after November 4, 1981, if a candidate has qualified to appear on any ballot by nominating petition under a reserved party designation, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, and such nominee thereafter, but prior to twenty-four days before the opening of the polls on the day of the election for which such nomination has been made, dies, withdraws such nominee’s name or for any reason becomes disqualified to hold the office for which such nominee has been nominated (1) such party or, on and after November 4, 1981, the party designation committee may make a nomination to fill such vacancy or provide for the making of such nomination as its rules prescribe, and (2) if another party that is qualified to nominate a candidate for such office does not have a nominee for such office, such party may also nominate a candidate for such office as its rules prescribe. No withdrawal, and no nomination to replace a candidate who has withdrawn, under this section shall be valid unless the candidate who has withdrawn has filed a letter of withdrawal signed by such candidate with the Secretary of the State in the case of a state or district office or the office of state senator or state representative from any district, or with the municipal clerk in the case of a municipal office other than state senator or state representative. A copy of such candidate’s letter of withdrawal to the municipal clerk shall also be filed with the Secretary of the State. No nomination to fill a vacancy under this section shall be valid unless it is certified to the Secretary of the State in the case of a state or district office or the office of state senator or state representative from any district, or to the municipal clerk in the case of a municipal office other than state senator or state representative, by the organization or committee making such nomination, at least twenty-one days before the opening of the polls on the day of the election, except as otherwise provided by this section. If a nominee dies within twenty-four days, but prior to twenty-four hours before the opening of the polls on the day of the election for which such nomination has been made, the vacancy may be filled in the manner prescribed in this section by two o’clock p.m. of the day before the election with the municipal clerk or the Secretary of the State, as the case may be. If a nominee dies within twenty-four hours before the opening of the polls and prior to the close of the polls on the day of the election for which such nomination has been made, such nominee shall not be replaced and the votes cast for such nominee shall be canvassed and counted, and if such nominee receives a plurality of the votes cast, a vacancy shall exist in the office for which the nomination was made. The vacancy shall then be filled in a manner prescribed by law. A copy of such certification to the municipal clerk shall also be filed with the Secretary of the State. Such nomination to fill a vacancy due to death or disqualification shall include a statement setting forth the reason for such vacancy. If at the time such nomination is certified to the Secretary of the State or to the municipal clerk, as the case may be, the ballot labels have already been printed, the Secretary of the State shall direct the municipal clerk in each municipality affected to (A) have the ballot labels reprinted with the nomination thus made included thereon, (B) cause printed stickers to be affixed to the ballot labels so that the name of any candidate who has died, withdrawn or been disqualified is deleted and the name of any candidate chosen to fill such vacancy appears in the same position as that in which the vacated candidacy appeared, or (C) cause blank stickers to be so affixed if the vacancy is not filled.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; P.A. 81-447 amended section to include candidates qualifying by nominating petition under a reserved party designation; P.A. 82-247 amended section to clarify procedure for filing withdrawal of candidacy by nominee; P.A. 83-475 amended section to create ten-day period before election or primary during which vacancies are not to be filled except in case of death of candidate; P.A. 94-203 added Subdiv. (2) re stickers, replacing former provision requiring stickers if nomination certified less than 96 hours before polls open, and added Subdiv. (3) re blank stickers, effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 03-216 designated existing provision re filling vacancy as Subdiv. (1), added Subdiv. (2) authorizing another party that does not have a nominee to also nominate a candidate for the office for which there is a vacancy in nomination and made technical changes, effective July 1, 2003; P.A. 07-194 changed “ten days” to “twenty-four days” and “seven days” to “twenty-one” days, effective July 5, 2007.

PART V

LISTS OF CANDIDATES

Sec. 9-461. Filing of list of candidates with Secretary. Not later than the seventh day following the date set for the primary for nomination at any election at which a municipal office is to be filled, the clerk of the municipality in which such election is to be held shall file with the Secretary of the State a list of the candidates of each party for the municipal offices to be filled at such election nominated in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Such list shall be on a form provided by the Secretary of the State and shall indicate the name and address of each candidate and the office and term for which each candidate has been nominated, and, except for major party candidates for the municipal offices of state senator or state representative, shall contain the certification of such municipal clerk that he has compared the name of each such candidate with the candidate’s name as the candidate authorizes the candidate’s name to appear on the ballot, pursuant to the certificate filed in accordance with subsection (c) of section 9-391 or the statement of consent filed in accordance with section 9-409, as applicable, and has verified and corrected the same. In the case of major party candidates for the municipal offices of state senator or state representative, such list shall contain the certification of the municipal clerk that he has compared the name of each such candidate with the candidate’s name as the candidate has authorized, on the certificate or statement of consent filed under subsection (c) of section 9-391 or section 9-409, his name to appear, and has verified and corrected the same. Such list shall include a statement of the total number of candidates for which each elector may vote for each office and term at such election as set forth in the list or amendment or supplement thereto filed with the Secretary of the State under section 9-254. After the filing of such list of candidates, the clerk of the municipality shall forthwith notify the Secretary of the State of any errors in such list or of any changes in such list provided for in section 9-329a or 9-460.

History: 1963 act restated previous provisions; P.A. 75-206 changed from at least 28 days to 42 days prior to election the time by which list of candidates for municipal offices to be filed; P.A. 87-382 substituted “Not later than the seventh day following the date set for the primary for nomination at” for “At least forty-two days prior to”, required town clerk to include on list certification that he has compared name of each major party candidate for municipal offices of state senator or state representative with certificate or statement of consent, instead of with registry list and added reference to Sec. 9-329a; P.A. 11-173 replaced provision re candidate’s name as it appears on registry list with provision re candidate’s name as the candidate authorizes the name to appear and made technical changes, effective July 13, 2011.

Sec. 9-462. Lists of candidates for state and district offices. On September fifteenth in each year when a state election, as defined in section 9-1, is held or not later than September twenty-second in any year in which the date of a primary for nomination to a state or district office is advanced pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 9-376, the Secretary of the State shall mail to each town clerk a list of the names of all duly nominated candidates for state and district offices to be filled at such election, filed in his office prior to such date, for whom an elector may vote, with the respective party designation of each of such candidates. Forthwith after the results of the primaries for state and district offices are tabulated, the Secretary of the State shall mail to each town clerk in the district the names of all duly nominated candidates for such offices, with the respective party designation of each of such candidates.

History: P.A. 74-25 provided for notification to town clerks following tabulation of primary votes for state and district offices; P.A. 75-206 added “state and district” to offices for which notification to be made by the secretary of the state on September fifteenth in year of state election; P.A. 83-544 subjected any primary election advanced pursuant to Sec. 9-376 to the provisions of this section.